Design Improvements in LNG Carriers

By Jacques Dhellemmes, Chairman & C.E.O, GAZTRANSPORT & TECHNIGAZ France

Abstract
After a brief review of the history and the on-going trend in the shipping of Liquefied Natural Gas, the presentation addresses issues and technological improvements that would enhance greatly the costefficiency of LNG in a price driven energy-market. Sound competition, vessels size and technical innovations are the key factors that have been identified to reduce cost of shipping, while maintaining safety and reliability at the unprecedented level set by the LNG shipping community. The paper focuses on technical improvements achievable in the very near future, such as: Containment system : G.T.T. is actively engaged in different ways to improve the Containment System. G.T.T. has launched a new containment system which reduces building costs while increasing the overall efficiency (insulation thickness, weight) of a new and improved generation of LNG Carriers and above all keeping a high degree of safety and reliability. Hull bodylines: A new shape of tank (bi-oblique tank) has been developed allowing an increase of about 20% in the capacity of tank N1 compared to existing geometry. G.T.T. has developed with the assistance of Marin (Wageningen) a new set of hull body lines fully adapted to the bi-oblique tank. In this study, special care has been given to the performances of the ship. New propulsion: historically LNG Carriers have been powered with steam turbines in spite of their low efficiency, weight and higher space occupancy when compared to other available systems, such as medium speed diesel engines or gas turbines. Those have both demonstrated their inherent capacities to comply with the requirements of LNG Carriers. Improvements in these fields would impact positively on the cargo carrying capabilities of LNG Carriers. Economic assessment, taking into account all parameters such as gain in capacity, investment and operating costs, should then offer a better solution for tomorrows LNG transportation.

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Introduction

Never ever before has the shipping world experienced a demand of such magnitude for sea-going vessels dedicated to the transport of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Do I really need to tell the distinguished floor that Natural gas is a clean burning energy transported by pipelines when in its gaseous state and in specially designed ships when liquefied at its boiling temperature and atmospheric pressure? In its liquid form, it weighs less than half the water. The consumption of natural gas is growing worldwide at a faster pace than any of the other available primary energies, which are known to be much less friendly to the environment. The proven worlds gas reserves are well in excess of the crude oil ones and regionally less concentrated than these of Crude Oil. During the last decade of the last century, investment volumes required for the construction of a liquefaction plant or indeed for a regasification plant have been slashed by a factor of two or more, while a reduction of the same magnitude could be observed in the LNG Carrier shipbuilding industry. Electrical power producers favor gas fed combined cycle gas turbines for their higher efficiency, their initial costs and the relatively short time required for their installation. A strong demand for LNG will be sustained or even heightened as long as the delivery prices remain competitive and that the worlds fleet of LNG Carriers maintains its present outstanding safety record. Much more can be done for cost-effectiveness, if and only if one dares question a few initial concepts which are simply and conservatively taken for granted by the shipping industry, such as the penalizing steam turbine plant with its low efficiency and high space occupancy and the arbitrary limitations of ships size. Aside from its own developments and innovations, G.T.T funds various studies which all confirm that benefits are achievable, in the short term, through optimization of the deadweight/ lightweight ratio even within ships with displacements approximately equal to that of the present standard 140,000 m3 LNG carrier. In this publication, the author addresses, issues which if specified at the design stage would promote LNG as a cost-competitive energy and significantly reduce the unit cost of LNG sea transportation without imperilling the reliability and the established safety record.

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1. The context and the need for improvements 1.1 Seaborne LNG The LNG Carriers Fleet constitution
Fig. 1-World's Fleet Evolution expressed in Capacity
40 000 000

Orders by Containment Systems

35 000 000
3 000 000 2 500 000 2 000 000 Capacity 1 500 000 1 000 000 500 000 Membranes Spheres Total

30 000 000

25 000 000
World's fleet capacity

20 000 000

2002

2003

2004

2005

Year of delivery

15 000 000

10 000 000

5 000 000

0
1964 1969 1974 1979 1984 1989 Years 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014

Capacity

7% Growth

Firm Known Orders

Growth 10%

Before entering what looks like the beginning of an LNG Era, the somehow very young industry went through five phases of success and hardships as shown on the above graph. Period I: 1964 1974 The Kick Off The first truly commercial LNG cargo was loaded in October 1964 in nine tanks fitted in a ship offering an aggregate capacity of 27,400m3 at 100% filling with a boil-off rate in excess of 0.3% per day. In 1969 the first two membrane carriers were delivered to their owner; both 71.500 m3 vessels are still engaged in a worldwide trade after more than thirty years service in some of the severest seas of the globe. At that time, the Crude Oil industry did not realize immediately the real potentialities of natural gas, which they used to flare on site. As a matter of fact, an LNG trade was really exceptional. The take-off of LNG sea transport may be qualified of skittish.

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Period II: 1974 1981 The Take-Off Japan opened the route to LNG with three major import projects that required large LNG carriers. The western hemisphere followed the way in its search for diversification of primary energies imports due to the first oil crisis. Many shipyards have engaged into a fierce competition offering various types of containment systems. Large orders were placed and many others were under discussion during that period. Very quickly the membrane system dominated the western market, while Japan showed its preference for the spheres. Only these two containment systems will survive this fierce competition. Period III: 1981-1989 The years of zero growth The second oil crisis stirred up an LNG price dispute and a deregulated US gas bubble combined together succeeded in shelving once and for all many ambitious and promising projects in the Atlantic Basin. At the time, the shipbuilding activity was going through an unprecedented economical crisis, forcing many of the most able and experienced yards to go bankrupt thus leaving very little real competition between shipyards for the LNG shipbuilding. Period IV: 1989-1998 The revival The Japaneses ban on twenty year-old tankers and the coming on stream of new LNG sources spurred on a new demand for LNG Carriers thus freeing a quality tonnage which was seen as a mean of reducing costs elsewhere around the world. Refurbishment, re-vamping and life extension of the old existing tonnage became a real leitmotiv in the LNG shipping world in its hunt for ever lower chartering rates. With only very few exceptions the new tonnage required by the Japanese market was to be built to the containment system offered by the Japanese shipbuilding yards. Korea then entered the LNG business as an LNG importer and as a country eager to build its own required LNG tonnage. This brought some sound competition in a market so far quite restricted. Period V: 1999 The Golden Age A growing public awareness for more environment friendly energy militates for the use of natural gas, which otherwise would still be flared causing an extra and unnecessary pollution. A greater multiplicity of gas sources and markets as well as lower costs at all stages of the LNG chain combined to a new born flexibility in Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPA) are the right ingredients for an LNG Golden Age. New Liquefaction Plants are not anymore dimensioned against a buyers firm commitment. This allows for spare capacities available for short and medium term contracts. The N.G (Natural Gas) liquefaction technology has improved so much that a single train can produce up to three times the capacity of the trains constructed in the seventies. The involvement of major players of the energy business in a multiplicity of projects spread all over the globe guarantees supplies and to certain extent price stability. The

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accrued interest of traditional Oil Companies in natural gas is a positive sign of the orientation of the consumption of energy beyond the petroleum era. The costs of generating electricity in high efficiency Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) have been considerably reduced by burning natural gas. The emergence of shipowners prepared to provide first class LNGC tonnage at competitive rates and for negotiable periods is certainly an important and favourable factor of the development of seaborne LNG. The Korean shipyards breakthrough came along with a growth in the demand for LNG, which lay far beyond the most optimistic experts forecast. The shipyards have, with a strategy of a repeat ships, secured the majority of the orders placed for deliveries scheduled between 2002 and 2005. Fig N 2 Evolution of Seaborne LNG
Evolution of LNG Trade
450 400 350 300 billion 250 200 150 100 50 0 1988 Billion Cbm Billion cbm xm iles

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

Ye ars

Source: Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd

Demand for LNG is growing steadily, requiring a even stronger growth in the shipping tonnage. Presently, all of the 128 existing vessels are fully employed; the industry does not speak anymore of laid-up vessels.

1.2 Worlds Fleet Perspectives of Evolution

LNG Sellers and Buyers have both understood the need for cost reductions and they have engaged into a necessary commonalty of interest, which will most definitely promote a greater consumption of natural gas and thus increase the demand for LNG Carriers. LNG experts agree that the average 7%growth per year experienced during the last decade will at least keep through 2015. More optimistically a 10% growth is to be considered and will most likely occur in steps as brownfield come on stream and as planned projects are gradually constructed. If considered alone the firm orders known to this date and illustrated in the graph of paragraph 1.1and in the next one indicate a growth of the worlds LNGC fleet of around 10%; that is to say that the existing fleet would double within the next seven years without accounting for any possible replacement. In other words if all remains constant then some 107 vessels of 140,000m3 are to be constructed by 2010 or on average 15 vessels per year. A more conservative view based on the overall fleet aggregate would yield a 7% growth to the LNGC fleet, which would then double in the next ten years and generate a need for some 10 ships per year.

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Fig N 3 Shipbuilding orders per containment system .

Orders by Containment Systems
3 000 000 2 500 000 Capaci 2 000 000 1 500 000 1 000 000 500 000 0 2002 2003 2004 2005 Membranes Spheres Total

Year of delivery

Everything does not need to remain constant and technological improvements would enhance valuable economics which in turn will induce a greater share for natural gas in the primary energies market.

1.3 Evolution of the LNGC shipbuilding contract price

The LNG Carrier shipbuilding contract price is not necessarily the most important issue; but it carries quite a weight in any investment decision making process.
: 125/140,000cbm Newbuilding Contract Price $M

450 400 350 Millions US$ 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001

Years
Price $M MoD Price Dollar 2002

Fig N 4 Evolutions of Shipbuilding Contract Prices During the period of Japanese Dominated Market and while only the spheres system were used in a Japanese protected shipbuilding market , the shipbuilding contract prices kept

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soaring upward, until orders for membrane vessels were placed by MISC with Chantiers de lAtlantique, in the early nineties. The Korean shipyards holding GTT License have succeeded in bringing down the prices at their lowest level ever as can be seen on the graph showing the shipbuilding contract prices expressed in Money of the Day (MoD) and in present value US Dollar2002 , with a mere 3% yearly inflation rate for the thirty years considered. In other words, the graph clearly depicts how shipbuilding contract prices rose in a situation of quasi-monopoly. The first major improvement with a huge benefit to the LNG industry would be sound competition between LNG shipbuilders. Over the last two years, five experienced shipyards but new to the gas industry have shown interest in LNG Carriers and are now developing their own LNG Carrier projects with G.T.Ts assistance. The increased number of players will benefit to the quality of the vessels and will most surely challenge the industry with competitive innovations and a while keeping shipbuilding prices close to the present level.. If, Shipyards competition is healthy, other improvements ought to be achieved through sound designs based on modern technology.

1.4 Containment systems appraisal

Gaztransport & Technigaz (G.T.T.) patented products have gained a worldwide recognition for their efficiency and safety. The membrane technology offers the most cost-effective containment systems offered in the market. Indeed, LNGC built to the membrane systems call for less steel, smaller size of equipments, limited investments for the shipyard and last but not least less space is required for the construction which enables the yard to spread its overheads on its other ship orders. From the figure below one can readily conclude as follows: a. The membrane system achieves a higher and more efficient deadweight to lightweight ratio for any given hull form. b. The membrane system needs lower effective power and less fuel consumption c. The membrane has less registered tonnage, which reduces significantly port charges and canal dues. d. A membrane ship costs less to dry-dock then a sphere vessel.

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Fig N 5 Main Particulars of some existing and of JapanMax projects LNG Carriers
Membrane System Chantiers de l'Atlantique Kockums 1981 1981 Ramdane Abane
LNG/LPG- GT NO

Builder Year Ship's name

Daewoo HI 2000
SK Summit K Accacia K.Freesia

Samsung SB 2000 SK Supreme Mark III 278.85 266.00 42.60 26.00 11.30 68 300 138 375 4 92 866.00

LNG Bonny

Spherical Tank System Moss General Kvaener G.T.T Rossenberg Dynamics Mitsubishi Masa Kawasaki 1974 1980 1999 1999 2005 xxxx Project GTT' Proj. Golar Hilli Louisiana Mubaraz JapanJapan Max Mazo Max*

NO 96 286.90 275.00 41.80 11.20 277.00 266.00 43.40 26.00 11.30

Length overall Length bp Breadth Depth Design Draft Deadweightdesign draft Capacity at 100%20C Tank Number GRT NRT GRT NRT Power (Kw) Speed (knots)

Main Characteristics

274.00 262.00 42.00 11.25

280.31 272.00 43.50 26.00 11.50 75 000 154 300 4 98680**

293.74 282.00 41.60 25.00 11.70 73 074 125 003 6 84 855.80 28 870.00

285.29 273.41 43.83 25.24 11.53

290.00 276.00 46.00 25.50 11.68

289.00 275.00 48.18 27.00 11.30

299.00 277.00 49.00 27.00 11.4

126 130 5 81 265.00 29 615.00 83 443.00 73 239.00 25 000 20.2

133 000 138 000 5 4 85 616.00 95 376.00 25 684.00 98 168.00 78 239.00 84 121.00 30 000 20.7 29 400 20.5

76210 71000 126 530 135 000 137 000 147 200 5 5 4 4 93 619.00 111 835.00 116 703.00 120300 28 085.00 33 550.00 35 010.00 124 856.15 106 317.22 29 850 19.5 29 600 19.5 29500 19.5

96 432.00 82 777.00 29 040 20.30 29200** 19.50

100 995.00 92 215.11 100 668.00 29 411 19.70 31 620 20.3

Suez

* The figures released by Kawasaki for marketing purpose do not seem realistic with the max displacement allowed in Japan ** to be confirmed

Liquid motion inside the cargo tanks was considered in the early days of LNG Carriers as the weakest point of the membrane technology; this has been well mastered since the early nineties through modelling capabilities et simulation carried out in G.T.T.s laboratory. Even, with increased ships capacity offered by G.T.T.s main competitor with stretch tanks it has only a very limited success in the present market dominated by the membrane technology which takes over 70% of the available shares expressed in terms of number of ships under construction or to be delivered by 2005. In a competition driven market the selection of a containment system is also a key factor for cost-effective shipping.

1.5 Improvements through design

The designing of an LNG Carrier needs to meet all the marine transportation requirements and to have its technical and economical performances optimized. In modern world, one cannot just patch up a nest around a newly laid egg; in other words an LNG Carrier is not a containment system on the one side and a hull on the other. Both entities need to be optimized together*. Modern LNG Carriers are ocean going ships built to last almost for half a century and as such they should be designed with all the knowledge accumulated over centuries in the field of Naval Architecture and with the use of the best mathematical tools of modelling available today.

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Knowledge and experience induce security and safety especially when promoting new designs or concepts. G.T.T has invested heavily in time and in all the modern tools that make it possible to evaluate every single detail of a design of larger and larger vessels as required by the market to achieve a worthwhile economy of scale. Each of the issues listed below have been studied in depth and are safe, reliable and immediately achievable. Major improvements will aim at the reduction of the ships initial and operating costs and at keeping or improving ships reliability and availability. Cost efficiency can be enhanced through several means: a) b) c) d) larger vessels or optimized vessels with the existing shore facilities are one way of achieving an economies of scale. Improvement in the cargo containment systems adapting the shape of the tanks to the most efficient hull forms benefiting from the break through of naval architecture. reducing the engine room volume occupancy with alternative prime movers.

Each of the above listed improvements or indeed a combination of any of them will improve the deadweight to lightweight ratio which in turn will generate a reduction of the transportation costs. The very same ratio of optimization will be improved by choosing alternative propulsion plants which will not only increase the deadweight since the engine room will consume less space while reducing drastically the fuel consumption.

2. Technological Improvements 2.1 The effect of size

In the last thirty years, the size of LNG Carriers has not grown so much as it did from the sixties. The shipbuilding contracts signed in 1972 were for 125,000 m3 class vessels and it is only now that vessels with a carrying capacity of 145,000m3 have been ordered; a mere 16% increase in the capacity at 100% filling. Fig N6
Ship siz e v year delivered
160 000 140 000 120 000 sh ip size in c 100 000 80 000 60 000 40 000 20 000 0 1960

1965

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

co n stru ctio n ye ar

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Size wise the membrane technology has no physical constraints and can be considered for any ships dimensions. The same cannot be said for every containment system especially if one is concerned with an optimized ship. The following table shows the main characteristics of existing vessels utilizing membrane or sphere systems and optimized ones to the Japanese ports limitations. Increased capacity generates an overall reduction in the transporting costs expressed in $/MMBTU as can be seen from this example based on the following parameters of a membrane type LNGC Distance Loading to Unloading port BOGladen voyage BOGballast voyage HFO =5,000nm =2.5$MMBTU =3.2$/MMBTU = 125$/MT

Calculations show that with these parameters, the costs incurred by a ship built to the membrane system are some 3% lower than those of a same size vessel built with spheres. Selecting a larger vessel with the membrane system would reduce even furthermore the transportation costs over the considered distance.

Transport Costs 0.76 0.75 $ per MMBTU transported 0.74 0.73 0.72 0.71 0.7 0.69 0.68 135000 140000 145000 150000 155000 160000 165000 Transport Costs

Ship capacity

Fig N 7 Effect of ships size on transportation costs

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2.2 Containment Systems

Fig. 8: Building Principles of CS1 Gaztransport and Technigaz have launched in 2001 a new on board LNG containment system baptized CS1, which stands for Combined System 1. The new system is the result of a combination of the main and proven features of each of the other two existing techniques, Mark III and NO 96. CS1 uses the reinforced polyurethane foam insulation of the G.T.T. Mark III system and the metallic membrane of G.T.T. NO 96 made of invar for a low thermal contraction coefficient metal, for its ease of installation and for its weld ability. The second membrane being made of a composite aluminumglass fiber called triplex and issued from the G.T.T Mark III system. During the development campaign all the main components borrowed from the other systems were re-assessed and validated in ways of stress concentration and fatigue life. CS1 has largely benefited from G.T.T.s knowledge and experience of its previous patented systems. accurate and in depth knowledge of materials such as foams, plywood, mastics and triplex as used in the Mark III technique accurate knowledge of fatigue behavior of the invar material used in the NO 96 technique The development of CS1 was made possible thanks to the nowadays powerful means of calculating available at G.T.Ts Research & Development Department. The capabilities of Imodern computing equipment are such that they have pushed forward the design methodology used in the past for the development of earlier techniques. Extensive use of the most powerful means of calculating, modeling and simulating were made for the development of the combined system. Its end purpose is to offer a larger choice to the customer and incite a greater competition.

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Finite elements method allowed for early optimization of technical solutions. So as to reach a better correlation, finite elements models have been used to accurately determine the most severe testing conditions. It is now possible to generate complete and complex mathematical models that incorporate phenomena such as friction and plasticity, which were never accounted for before. Chosen models allowed checking the reactions of complex sets which bear the most stressed areas; such as flat panels, 90 and 135 dihedral, trihedral, fish-bone pattern tank n1, liquid dome, gas dome, pump tower support. The fatigue behaviour of different junctions has have been thoroughly studied and have covered items such as tube-tube junction, trihedral-tube junction, pump tower support-primary membrane junction, primary membrane-gas dome junction, and primary membrane-liquid dome junction. Loading cases comply with the IMO code. The most severe sea-conditions have been considered, such as a 40-year lifespan in North Atlantic spectrum with a maximum safety. The system optimization has been designed taking into account reliability and final cost. Thus the system has been rationalized to make assembling quicker and easier. Since CS1 calls for well known components and well mastered erections procedures, it will be well adapted: to a quick assembling of the invar primary membrane to a high prefabrication and reliable insulation: reinforced polyurethane foam panels

The systematic fatigue behaviour study of the most stressed areas and more specifically the improvement of the welding details have enabled to decrease considerably the risks of failure. Furthermore, the impact of an unlikely damage of a part or of the whole system has been carefully studied in order to check that the two membranes behave independently and that the failure of one doesnt affect the ability of the other one to contain the LNG. The new design aims at the reduction of the current building costs while increasing the containment efficiency by reducing the insulation thickness and thus improving the deadweight to lightweight ratio. G.T.Ts calculations show that savings on the containment system would amount to approximately 15% or about 3% of the total cost of the vessel.

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Fig. 9: 3-D Cross section of a 90 Dihedral of CS1

2.3 New tank shape and improved bodylines

2.3.1 New shape for Tank N1 The membrane technology has that unique feature of being flexible to fit different hull shapes. It was therefore decided to design a forward tank that would take advantage of modified hull forms, which would nevertheless retain the same level or even higher efficiency than the existing vessels. The exercise is meant to increase significantly the ships deadweight while keeping the incidence on the lightweight as negligible as possible .The solution was to design a new tank shape referred to as the bi-oblique which brings an extra 20% over the volume of the more traditional shape of tank n1. If implemented, this improvement alone will increase the total ships capacity of a 140 K Class LNGC by approximately 3% (say some 4,500m3).

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Fig.10:

Traditional shape of Tank N 1

Advanced shape of Tank N 1

Fig. 11 3D Shape of Tank N1

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2.3.2 Hull bodylines. The tank shape introduced previously requires a new set of bodylines. For this G.T.T called on the expertise of MARIN, the well-known and recognized Model Basin (Wageningen), in order to develop efficient bodylines for a new generation of LNG Carriers. MARIN made use of its computational tools RAPID in order to calculate and design an efficient form for calm water performance and SHIPMO in order to assess the sea keeping response. Particular attention was paid to the forward bulb and to the aft body in order to reduce bow, shoulder and stern waves. After several iterations, the selected configuration was then tested in MARINs Deepwater Basin. More series of tests were conducted with a designed propeller, which demonstrated that the model meets the speed set as target by G.T.T., in calm water. The gain in volume in the forward tank required a fuller form in the way of the bow and a lower deadrise angle for the bow flare. MARIN has therefore paid a particular attention to the slamming effect at the bow at sustained speed in waves. The new improved hull shape proved to behave very satisfactorily in all tested conditions, from mild to severe sea states. To ensure that the design does not induce unacceptable sloshing effect inside the tank a full campaign of Liquid Motion tests were conducted, including numerical calculations and model tests and simulation for the worst calculated cases in G.T.T.s test bed facilities.

Fig 11-Model test

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2.4 Alternative Propulsion Plants

All LNG Carriers presently operating except for two small ones (the Havfru and the Century 29,600m3 each) are powered by steam turbine plants. If you will recall, the steam propulsion system was, in the early sixties, the only technical choice available in order to make the best out of the inevitable cargo boil-off. Boil-off can not be avoided; therefore any approach aiming to replace the existing steam plant has to deal with the cargo released from the insulated tanks. Is it worth to re-liquefy onboard the Boil-Off Gas (BOG)? The answer is no it is not worth it, and for three major reasons: o o o the first being environmental, if the boil-off is liquefied the ship will have to pollute much more by burning HFO instead. historically speaking the boil-off gas has not been given a much higher value than the bunker used in the ships boilers or diesel engines. re-liquefaction of LNG requires a lot of energy.

There is no a universal rule for pricing BOG and it is not in the scope of this publication to address such important issue for which many answers have been considered by numerous key players in the industry. The possible alternative plants all have to accept BOG as fuel. Many prime movers are known to do so and experiences ashore exist. Gaz de France together with Chantiers de lAtlantique are the first to implement their answer on a 3 74,000m LNG Carrier to be built with CS1 and with gas diesel engine generating electricity to rotate the propeller shaft. G.T.T. has funded studies to evaluate the pro and cons of the various possible alternatives; amongst these researches the German Consultant Company Marine Service GmbH of Hamburg has published very recently its findings and others will do so in the course of this year. G.T.T.s question to the Consultant was simple: what is the optimum prime mover and engine room achievable in a standard hull with bodylines utilized presently to construct a 140,000m3? Aside from the benefits in OPEX of each of the prime movers considered the increased capacity achievable with the membrane system is considered. Ships main characteristics: Length overall Length b.p Breadth molded Depth to upper deck Draught at departure 274,00m 266.00m 42.60m 26.00m 11.50m

Propulsion plants considered: Base Case: Conventional Steam Plant, 140,000m3 with a speed of 19.5 knots at 90% MCR including 21% sea margin. Membrane technology Four tanks configuration To be compared with the following alternatives: Combined Gas-Steam Turbines electric plant Gas diesel electric plant

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Combined Gas-Steam Turbines mechanical/electrical plant with a CPP Slow speed diesel mechanical plant with BOG re-liquefaction Medium speed gas diesel mechanical plant

The results of the study are summarized in the following table: Propulsion Plants Conventional Steam Plant Combined Gas-Steam Electric Propulsion Gas-Diesel Electric Propulsion Combined Gas-Steam Turbines Mechanical/Electric Propulsion with CPP Slow Speed Diesel Mechanical Prop. With BOG reliquefaction Medium Speed Gas Diesel Mechanical Propulsion
Source: Marine Service GmbH

Ships Cap STP CGE GDE CCM SSD MSD

Savings over 2,500nm 3 Base(140,000m ) 100 3 +15,700m 91.86 +7,900m3 89.01 86.07 +14,900m3 +7,900m3 +7,900m3 92.33 90.57

Economical ranking 6 4 2

1
5 3

Costs breakdown -range 6,500nm

7 6 5
Million US$

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5
STP 2.135 2.358 5.933 37.9 0.894 CGE 2.242 2.388 5.572 41.4 0.843 GDE 2.129 2.388 3.932 39.6 0.804 CCM 2.127 2.388 4.156 41.3 0.777 SSD 2.165 2.339 4.892 41 0.811 MSD 2.093 2.339 5.119 41 0.795 Million MMBTU

4 3 2 1 0

Monthly Charter rate(Million US $) Port charges(Million US $) Fuel Costs(Million US $) Delivered LNG(Million MMBTU) Transport cost ($/MMBTU)

Prime movers

Monthly Charter rate(Million US $) Fuel Costs(Million US $) Transport cost ($/MMBTU)

Port charges(Million US $) Delivered LNG(Million MMBTU)

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The gain in volume does not include the extra volume obtained in the forward part of the vessel with improved bodylines and a bi-oblique N1 tank. The savings in the costs of transportation are those realized by each alternative over the base case propulsion in a trade where the loading facilities and the receiving terminal are 2,500 nautical miles apart. The same exercise shows similar results for ports located 6,500 nautical miles away from each other. The combined Gas Turbine with heat recovery to drive a steam turbine is the friendliest prime mover towards the environment. This system has a high efficiency over 50% in shore plants where it has proved a high reliability and availability. However much more conservative estimations have been taken into account in the economical evaluation. The Gas Turbine has found an extensive use onboard naval ship and high speed vessels even though it is fed with an expensive Marine Diesel Oil. Onboard an LNG Carrier, where natural boiloff and forced boil-off can be made readily available at a cheaper price than MDO, the Gas Turbine is the ideal propulsion. The same question has been addressed by other consultants and engineering companies, it did not come as a surprise to see that they all consider the membrane containment system as the one and only one able to take advantage of the savings in engine room occupancy in order to achieve valuable economies.

In Conclusion,
The next decade will be a very interesting time for natural gas, for LNG and for LNG Shipping. Resources are available. For geopolitical reasons the share of LNG in the gas trade is going to increase and this will be more acute if the cost-efficiency of the transportation is improved. This is feasible with: I. a healthy competition among shipbuilders II. increased size of vessels III. technical improvements G.T.T will continue to promote all these studies and realizations in order to give to natural gas, a clean and easy to use energy, its rightful place amongst the other sources of energy.

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