Aerial view of Portsmouth and ferry terminals LR
Lloyd’s Register is working with British port to develop operational procedures and technical standards required for safe LNG bunkering operations
LR has commenced a project to identify the technical specifications and develop operating procedures for safe LNG bunkering in Portsmouth International Port. The project will position Portsmouth to develop its ambitions to become an LNG bunkering facility and hub – the first in the United Kingdom.
Leonidas Karistios, Global Gas Technology Manager, Lloyd’s Register said: “Obviously with growing demand for LNG, ports are looking to understand how they can develop the capability to deliver LNG bunkering services safely. It has to be safety first and Portsmouth is looking to ensure that they have the right, safe, approach to support operational and commercial ambitions. With a city adjacent to the port, significant ferry traffic and a large naval presence, there are substantial and varied stakeholder aspects to be addressed.”
Brittany Ferries latest newbuild, scheduled for delivery in 2016, will be gas fuelled (see LR’s March 2014 Gas Technology Report at www.lr.org/gas) and will call at Portsmouth where LNG bunkering will take place.
Kalvin Baugh, Deputy Ferry Port Manager, said: “With changes in the regulations governing emissions, it is clear that in the future more shipping will be fuelled by LNG. To help safeguard the port and meet the needs of our customers, Portsmouth International Port needs to be able to offer this facility. Safety is of course the main priority, and we are delighted that Lloyd’s Register has agreed to help us identify the technical specifications and operating procedures that will help to deliver this.”
Lloyd’s Register will provide detailed guidance to Portsmouth including requirements for technical specifications of bunkering equipment; helping to ensure that the right operational procedures are established; helping to ensure that port safety and emergency planning is provided for; and that personnel competence can be developed effectively and put in place.
Thanos Koliopulos, Global Special Projects Manager, commented: “We can use experience gained in projects like Singapore Port and Viking Grace to apply real project experience to deliver advice for the planning and execution of LNG bunkering to both the port and its bunkering service providers. Particular attention is given to the effective planning and execution of the port’s main clients’ compatibility of operations and all technical aspects for bunker tanker and receiving ship’s facilities. We can help Portsmouth to get ready for real LNG bunkering operations, not only for ferry and short-sea shipping, but our global expertise and perspective can also help them to prepare for supporting LNG fuelled deep sea shipping requirements.”
Lloyd’s Register’s gas expertise stems from decades of LNG carrier classification leadership and understanding ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of LNG. STS has been a principal area of development for large scale transfer of gas and is an important experience. Risk leadership undertaken for bunkering operations at the Port of Stockholm to support the high-volume bunkering required for the Viking Grace passenger ship project, now successfully in operation carrying 2, 800 passengers between Stockholm and Turku, has further added to Lloyd’s Register’s experience and track record. And recent LNG-as-fuel class contract wins include a wide variety of innovative projects in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Canada and the Netherlands for sophisticated gas-fuelled ships as demand for LNG-as-fuel moves beyond small domestic ferry applications.
Some of Lloyd’s Register’s marine LNG bunkering and gas handling firsts:
- LR is the market leader in LNG carrier and LPG carrier classification
- Lloyd’s Register wins Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) contract to develop operational procedures and technical standards required to develop LNG bunkering capabilities in the Port of Singapore
- Project addressing bunkering in Stockholm covered the port specific, practical details of safe LNG bunkering operations including: connection and start-up; normal disconnection, drain and purge; emergency disconnection, relief, purge; and operability issues (utilities, turn-around time, availability etc.) making safe LNG bunkering possible while passengers embark and disembark the ship.
- First classification society to conduct risk assessment and develop operational manuals for STS LNG transfers of major LNG carrier owners in use today in lightering and FSRU operations.
- First classification society to develop and issue rules for use of LNG-as-fuel for marine main propulsion systems (as applied on the LNG-fuelled Viking Grace now in operation in the Baltic).
- First classification society to execute full risk analysis of combined operations involving STS LNG transfer with regasification and high pressure (HP) gas export in an offshore environment.
- Completed risk analyses for the majority of the FSRU terminals operating with STS LNG transfer at port.
- Led the way in certification of both regasification terminals with STS cargo transfer operations via LNG shuttle tankers – currently successfully operating in Argentina.
- Developed a proprietary interactive demand model, which is able to assess the likely scale of demand for LNG-fuelled new construction and LNG as a fuel for deep sea shipping up to 2025.
- Evaluation, testing and certification of the most commonly used cryogenic hoses for LNG bunkering and emergency release systems (ERS) for LNG fuel transfer operations.
- Developed global expertise in establishing training tools for crew competence development, and risk management in the marine, oil and gas sectors.
About Lloyd’s Register
Lloyd’s Register (LR) is a global engineering, technical and business services organisation wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and engineering. Founded in 1760 as a marine classification society, LR now operates across many industry sectors, with over 9, 000 employees in 78 countries.
LR has a long-standing reputation for integrity, impartiality and technical excellence. Our compliance, risk and technical consultancy services give clients confidence that their assets and businesses are safe, sustainable and dependable. Through our global technology centres and research network, LR is at the forefront of understanding the application of new science and technology to future-proof our clients’ businesses.
Lloyd’s Register and variants of it are trading names of Lloyd’s Register Group Limited, its subsidiaries and affiliates.Lloyd’s Register Group Services Limited (Reg. no. 6193893) is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered office: 71 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4BS, UK. A member of the Lloyd’s Register group.
