Vincent Lagarrigue, PA Oil & Marine Director, Trelleborg Fluid Handling Solutions, suggests technology for ensuring the safe operation of LNG bunkering and highlights how important is to use LNG as a marine fuel in a easy, reliable and above all safe way. Mr. Lagarrigue also recommends further implementation of LNG bunkering operations offshore for efficient time management and less congestion at ports.
SAFETY4SEA: Tell us a few words about the Cryoline LNG hose technology. How does this technology ensure safe LNG bunkering operations?
Vincent Lagarrigue: Trelleborg’s Cryoline LNG hose technology, combining composite hoses with rubber bonded hoses, is a fusion of existing longstanding technology that has proven applicability in oil transfer applications over the past 40 years. Our customized design enables the safe and efficient transfer and handling of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) both for ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore transfers. Cryoline LNG hose technology ensures safe LNG bunkering, mainly because of the integrated monitoring system in each cryogenic floating hose. Even the slightest leak in the hose structure is detected and relayed back in real-time by sensitive optical fibers. If anything were to occur, the system would automatically pick up this information, allowing the operator to implement emergency procedures. This ultimately ensures effective, reliable, and safe LNG loading and offloading operations.
In ship-to-ship scenarios, the flexibility and durability of the hoses mean they are operable in practically all sea states; utilizing ship-to-ship aerial transfer for swell below 2.5 meters and ship to ship floating transfer for swell above 2.5 meters
S4S: How will Cryoline LNG hose technology impact ship-owners and the market in general and how owners may be assisted by your solutions portfolio?
V.L.: Our game-changing Cryoline hose transfer solutions have enabled a recalibration of traditional thinking around ship-to-shore LNG transfer, providing a viable alternative to traditional jetty-based transference – particularly in remote locations or when the cost of infrastructure would be prohibitive. For ship-to-ship transfers, using Trelleborg’s Cryoline floating hoses in combination with transfer platforms such as our Autonomous Transfer System (ATS), allows users to conduct LNG transfers in deeper waters and in more challenging conditions. Vessels can be moored as much as 300 to 500 meters away from a storage unit, thereby mitigating risk, enhancing safety, and reducing downtime. Moreover, our larger diameter cryogenic floating hoses (typically 16 to 20 inches) allow for an increased separation distance between vessels during side-by-side floating configuration – offering a novel solution to offshore ship-to-ship transfer systems, while coping with large flow rate (typically up to 10,000 to 12,000 m3/h). This also allows us to reduce the number of hoses used, lowering handling procedure time by as much as 60% and saving operational expenditure.
Another challenge the market faces is boil-off gas generation during transfer, losing valuable energy during the transfer process. The Cryoline technology’s insulated hoses can reduce boil-off by as much as 60%, equating to a saving of 10 billion btu’s of energy saved over the course of 500 transfers.
S4S: How industry stakeholders may encourage innovative solutions for further acceptance of LNG as a marine fuel? What actions would you recommend?
V.L.: There are many significant environmental regulations that are currently impacting the industry in a major way – most notably the 2020 sulfur cap implemented by the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in October last year. In addition, since 2005, all ships trading within sulfur Emission Control Areas (SECAs or ECAs) are required to stop using heavy fuel oil and instead choose fuels with a less than 0.5% sulfur content. With more ECAs expected to come online in the future, LNG provides a viable solution for ship owners and operators to help them meet these existing and forthcoming global environmental regulations. Trelleborg’s Cryoline hose-in-hose solution is an example of a technology that is making the acceptance of LNG as a marine fuel easier, by ensuring efficiency, reliability, and above all, safety. Our recommendation would be for further implementation of LNG bunkering operations offshore. This would lessen the need for ships to come into the harbor or port to fill their tanks, resulting in more efficient time management and less congestion.
S4S: What could be the right environmental and financial incentives to facilitate LNG bunkering?
V.L.: In terms of environmental incentives, regulation from the EU and other associations is certainly doing much to drive the adoption of LNG, and thus of LNG bunkering. With regards to financial incentives, ports are already offering tax incentives to low emitting ships. The Port of Amsterdam, for example, intends to offer significant bonuses to ships with a high Environmental Ship Index, which indicates the environmental performance of vessels based on air pollution emissions. Furthermore, we understand that in today’s globalized markets, businesses need to adopt a long-term approach with solutions that protect people and the environment while adhering to the highest safety standards. Businesses must align and perform due diligence against increasing regulations. LNG technologies such as Cryogenic hose-in-hose technology – that cut time and financial resources spent in ports – are certainly one way to help make this transition to greener shipping.
S4S: What is your key message/ advice to shipowners when deciding on LNG fuelling solutions?
V.L.: At Trelleborg, we recommend that ship owners involved in LNG make conscious choices towards solutions that are flexible, offshore, and above all safe. Trelleborg’s LNG hose transfer systems provide a cost effective, flexible option for LNG transfer that has the potential to open up new markets and regions for LNG bunkering.
The views presented hereabove are only those of the author and not necessarily those of GREEN4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.
