Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore has granted approval in principle to the innovative design for a 19,000 cbm LNG bunkering vessel with a GTT membrane type tank – the ‘Quadelprop’.
The name Quadelprop reflects features in the design and propulsion arrangements to enable high maneuverability and station keeping:
- Four azimuth (360°) thrusters fitted at each corner of the hull
- Four dual fuel generator sets installed in the engine room compartment and complemented by an energy storage system provide power
- to the ship and in particular to the electric thruster motors
The azimuth capability is enhanced and controlled by a redundant dynamic positioning (DP) system
Image Credits: bureauveritas.com
Speaking at Marintec in Shanghai today during the presentation of the AiP to Marinnov, Matthieu de Tugny, President of Bureau Veritas, Marine & Offshore said: ‘This project underlines just how fast and far the industry is going to meet tomorrow’s challenges today and it is a great pleasure to hand over this approval for such an exciting design.’
The high precision of the design’s DP system allows Quadelprop to keep position relative to the client ship so that the LNG transfer system is always within a safe working envelope. Thanks to that DP system, ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operations can also be envisaged safely at anchorage and in waiting areas. The absence of mooring requirements with the client ship not only simplifies and shortens the overall duration of the bunkering operation but also allows the bunker ship to immediately move away from the client ship in case of an emergency shut down and disconnection of transfer hoses.
Two LNG bunkering manifolds are provided: at amidships, portside, with large diameter connections allowing a max transfer flow rate of 2.000 m3/h and a stern bunkering manifold with smaller diameters allowing a transfer flow rate of 250 m3/h. The starboard side amidships manifold is dedicated to LNG loading at terminal and is designed for high loading flow rate
The vessel is particularly well adapted to coastal navigation and port operations with exceptional manoeuvring capabilities and a very high level of safety with a full ‘B/5’ wide double hull protecting the cargo tanks area and the engine room as well as a full redundancy of main and auxiliary equipment required by the Bureau Veritas DP2 notation.
Image Credits: bureauveritas.com
Claude Maillot, Senior Vice President, Bureau Veritas: ‘It is appropriate that we present this approval at Marintec – the leading showcase for Marine Technology this year – as China will be building so many of the ships that will be needed to meet the challenge of creating a cleaner shipping industry.’
Bespoke technical consultancy Marinnov developed the design with engineering support from ship designer Marine Assistance. Both companies having a long experience working together and jointly developing innovative concepts of LNG fueled ships and small scale LNG vessels.
Arthur Barret, Marinnov Founder and Managing Director explains that the Quadelprop concept is the fruit of many years observation and consideration of the challenges of LNG bunkering: ‘The early development of the LNG bunkering market has seen several LNG bunker ships entering service which were not specifically designed for the main mission of bunkering. I hope the industry is now ready to move to more dedicated and purpose built and more cost effective solutions enabling a lower cost of delivered LNG to benefit end users willing to shift to clean fuels.’
The ship is designed to carry LNG, under a maximum pressure of 0.7 barg in two identical membrane-type tanks. The work has involved a close collaboration with Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) and Air Liquide for the optimized solution adopted combining a very efficient insulation system of the LNG cargo tanks using the well proven Mark III Flex technology and a highly efficient sub-cooling unit type TBF-700 providing the vessel with a state of the art LNG and vapor handling system covering the whole spectrum of the intended cargo operations and services to clients.
Bureau Veritas Rules NR.467 and NR.620 have been applied and the AiP reflects incorporation of the following Bureau Veritas notations:
I ✠ HULL ✠ MACH, UNRESTRICTED NAVIGATION, Liquefied gas carrier (LNG, IMO Type 2G, maximum vapour pressure 0.7 barg, minimum temperature -165 °C), LNG Bunkering ship, ✠ AUT-UMS, ✠ SYS-NEQ 1, ✠ AVM-DPS, ✠ Dynapos AM/AT-R, ELECTRIC HYBRID (PM, PB), INWATERSURVEY.
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