LNG carriers will be able to draw up transit plans and carry out risk assessments
The Panama Canal Authority has adopted a proactive approach and is doing everything it can to ensure safe transitsof the enlarged Canal by the LNG carriers of SIGTTO members and non-members alike
The SIGTTO WG, established at the 67th GPC meeting in April 2013 , has been tasked with reviewing all existing PCA regulations and industry guidelines that may be relevant and clarifying the applicability of these requirementsfor gas carriers.
Because LNG carriers have not traditionally transited the canal, a current review of the safety regime, in advance of the likely transits of such ships beginning in early 2015 when the enlarged locks open, makes good sense.
LNG carriers may need to review existing mooring arrangements and ensurethey have systems in place which are specific to the Canal. For example, the Canal does not currently allow the use of wire ropes, with or without synthetic tails, andrequires that a steering light and pilot shelter are fitted on the bridge wings.
LNG carrier traffic brings into the PCA realm for the first time a new class of ship with multiple engine types and propulsion system arrangements. Steam turbine-powered ships, for example, are not common in the Canal and the manoeuvring of such vessels requires an understanding of their sea keeping behaviour.
The full mission simulator that PCA maintains to assist in the training of pilots in Canal transits will be of assistance in this respect. The document of consolidated, relevant information that the WG has been tasked with compiling will include an overview of the Panama Canal, sample transit plans and explanations of the critical and abort points as well as data on pilotage, tugs andvisibility requirements.
This information will help operators of LNG carriers to draw up transit plans and carry out risk assessments prior to a passage through the waterway. The aim is to issue the WG’s document as a SIGTTO publication. The group is targeting a submission of the document for approval at the 69th GPC meeting in March 2014. That would enable the publication to be made available by mid-2014.
