Gas Ship News

Woodside Energy has reached agreement with three Australian maritime unions on the Australian crewing of an LNG vessel.The agreement with the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union – Maritime Union of Australia Division; the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers; and the Australian Maritime Officers Union preserves a role for Australian-resident seafarers in the maritime industry delivering LNG to customers across Asia.The agreement will support employment of around 70 Australian-resident seafarers on an LNG carrier within Woodside’s chartered fleet.

Classification society Lloyd's Register has awarded Chinese shipbuilder Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co., Ltd with Approval in Principle (AiP) for its 91,000-cubic-meter very large gas carrier (VLGC).The design, named “Panda 91T”, includes an liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dual-fueled main engine and relevant fuel gas system, as well as an optional air lubrication system and the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) is approximately 40% lower than the base value, improving the efficiency…

Lloyd's Register (LR), the technical and business services organization and a maritime classification society, said that it is is collaborating with COSCO Shipping LNG Investment, COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry, Jiangnan Shipyard, MARIC, SSSRI and CCS to develop 220k LNG carrier with Mark III containment system.LR has signed an agreement with COSCO Shipping LNG Investment (Shanghai) Co., COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Co., Ltd, Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co., Ltd. (JN), Marine Design and Research Institute of China (MARIC), Shanghai Ship and Shipping Research Institute (SSSRI) and China Classification Society (CCS) to design and develop the first 220k LNG carrier with a GTT Mark III membrane containment system.The seven parties will use their expertise…

Danish gas ship owner Evergas announced that the worlds first Type-C 85,000m3 very large ethane carrier (VLEC) JS INEOS MARLIN was successfully delivered to INEOS Trading and Shipping.The vessel will carry ethane from US to China, said a press release from the company.The vessel has the largest Type-C tank ever made and Evergas has pushed the limit to 85000 CBM with a newly constructed Trilobe tank.The Dual-fuel Engine is over 16000 Kw from MAN Dual-fuel engines and MAN Alpha Propellers and is fueled by ethane, the vessel’s cargo.Guests at the ceremony included Godmother of the vessel Mrs. Aimee Ratcliffe, spouse of Sam Ratcliffe – INEOS and David Thompson, CEO Trading & Shipping – INEOS.

GNS, the maritime technology company, has been awarded the contract to supply the fleet of Singapore-based Epic Gas Ship Management and its shore-based marine team with a complete navigation solution.GNS won the contract following a competitive tender during which Epic Gas ran extensive sea and shore-based trials over a six-month period evaluating solutions from three vendors. Key evaluation criteria were intuitiveness of the software and simplicity of the end-to-end service, which includes everything from route planning and monitoring through to the efficient transfer of ENCs to ECDIS for voyage execution.Capt. Martin Brzuska, Head of Group Marine Assurance, DPA at Epic Gas said: “The most important thing for us is safe transportation of our cargoes globally.

Trelleborg’s marine systems operation has again supported the U.S. Coast Guard by delivering a third training session in ensuring the safe, secure and clean transportation and use of liquefied gas in U.S. waters. As liquefied gases become a major commodity across the U.S., there is a critical need for the coast guard community to understand the systems used on board liquefied gas ships and how these work with onshore facilities. Richard Hepworth, President, Trelleborg Marine Systems, explained, “The liquefied gas industry is now well-established in the U.S, particularly along the Gulf Coast. Understanding how to carry out ship to shore connections for both liquefied gas carriers and fueling operations is essential for all coast guard personnel…

After almost nine months of construction has MS "Helgoland" the new LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) ship of Cassen Eils from Cuxhaven, left the building dock of the Fassmer-Werft shipyard. Helgoland will be the first German flagged marine vessel to operate on LNG as its primary fuel. After the testing of systemically important components of the innovative LNG-drive in the port and sea operation will be carried out. Fassmer designed and built the MS Helgoland, Germany’s first passenger ferry with a dual-fuel propulsion system. The vessel is 83 meters long, 12.6 meters wide and has a draught of 3.6 meters, and a capacity of more than 1,180 passengers. The new LNG-drive has a capacity of 5,000 KW and brings with it 20 knots maximum.

ABS, a provider of classification services to the maritime and offshore industries, has been chosen to class the world's first contracted series of very large ethane carriers (VLECs). The class contract for the ships, which will be built in Korea by Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) for an Asian shipowner, represents another gas ship milestone for ABS. "We are delighted to have received the class contract for the world's first large ethane carriers," says ABS Vice President of Global Gas Solutions Patrick Janssens. "As a result of the shale gas boom in the US, ethane is developing as an exciting new market with great potential, requiring the development of new ship types. The contract is for six 87,000 m3 VLECs and available options.

On August, 13th the delivery and naming ceremony of our last construction, the ERRV C722- Ocean Marlin - for Atlantic Offshore was performed. The event was held in the Norwegian town of Stavanger, where Mrs. Apeland H. Anni acted as godmother. On this day, the ship was opened to guests and employees of Total E&P. The Ocean Marlin was built in our Zamakona Yards shipyard in San Sebastián and among its main features we find 66.8 m length by 16 m beam, 68.3 tons bollard pull and a cruising speed of 14 knots. The vessel offers accommodation for 21 people. The Ocean Marlin is the second of 3 vessels signed by our group with the Atlantic Offshore Company and starts a contract of 4 + 4 years with Total E&P in the Martin Linge field.

ABS announced it has been chosen to class the world's first compressed natural gas (CNG) carrier ordered by Pelayaran Bahtera Adhiguna, a subsidiary of Indonesia's state-owned power company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PT PLN). The award for the precedent-setting ship, to be built at Qingdao Wuchuan Heavy Industry's shipyard in northern China, is the latest example of ABS' leadership in the gas ship sector, where the largest share of LNG ships is presently being built to its classification standards.

The U.S. Shale Gas Revolution continues to drive orders for some of the world’s largest, most sophisticated tonnage. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) received an order from Astomos Energy Corporation for a very large liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier. The LPG carrier on order is identical to a vessel ordered to MHI by Astomos Energy late last year. Completion and delivery of the ship are scheduled for the first half of 2016. The newly ordered LPG carrier will measure 230.0 meters (m) in length overall (LOA)…

Marine design and engineering company Houlder announced the formation of an LNG project team in its London headquarters. Ian Meaden, Des Upcraft and Lijo Thomas joined the team this month to work exclusively on developing LNG projects in response to market requirements. The company said its new talent investment means it can build on its current LNG equipment projects to help with all aspects of marine design, engineering and project management from initial FEED study to implementation.

Dynagas, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping arm of the George Prokopiou shipping enterprises, has taken delivery of Arctic Aurora, the second of two ice-class membrane LNG tankers, during a ceremony at Hyundai Heavy Industry (HHI) Ulsan shipyard, Korea. The first, Yenisei River, was delivered yesterday. The 155,000 cbm (cubic meters) ships are fitted with GTT Mk III containment systems. Propulsion for the ships is provided by a duel fuel diesel generator engine system. Four Wartsila-Hyundai diesel engines in each ship…

Tugs 'Triton' and 'Honcho' of the Puerto Rico Towing & Barge Co. recently assisted a drifting vessel off the coast of Puerto Rico. The cargo ship Global Destiny, owned and operated by Diavlos Maritime based in Athen, Greece, called for assistance the morning of Saturday, March 16. The vessel reported that it had run out of fuel and was drifting approximately five miles off the coast of Dorado, approximately nine miles north west of San Juan. Puerto Rico. Towing’s tug Triton came…

Hamworthy Oil & Gas Systems has continued the major advance in China’s broadening gas carrier construction sector by securing more contracts for delivery of complete cargo handling systems to two liquid ethylene gas (LEG) carriers to be built at Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering Co. Ltd (SOE) in Nantong. The 12,000m3 capacity, 139m long semi-pressurised and refrigerated LEG carriers, will be incorporated in the ongoing project for the construction of six ships ordered by Luxembourg-based Jaccar Holdings/Eitzen Ethylene Carriers.

Tanker operator, BW Fleet Management, expanded its Fleet Repair Agreement with ASRY’s Bahrain yard. The new repair agreement was signed by Morten Steen Martinsen, managing director of BW Fleet Management and Chris Potter, CEO of ASRY, in April in Bahrain. The Norwegian company, which operates out of both Oslo and Singapore, manages a fleet of more than 90 vessels operated by BW Gas and BW Maritime, and the ASRY repair agreement involves those crude oil tankers, product tankers and LPG carriers that trade to the Arabian Gulf, giving guaranteed dock space and fixed rates.

According to reports, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., plans to deliver 25 percent more vessels this year as it increases production to work through almost four years worth of orders. The company delivered 11 vessels to carry consumer goods and fuel in January, the most in a month in the industry, the Ulsan, South Korea-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. The ships were all delivered as much as two-and-a-half months earlier than scheduled, it said. Hyundai Heavy delivered six large-sized container vessels, two LNG carriers, two oil tankers and one liquefied petroleum gas ship in January, the company said. The shipbuilder delivered a total of 81 vessels valued at $6.85 billion last year, compared with 73 worth $4.81 billion in 2006.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. reportedly won an order for four liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers from a shipping unit of British energy giant BP PLC, with the first due for delivery in 2006. While a total order value was not divulged, it is believed to be the first time that a Japanese shipbuilder has won an order for four LPG carriers all at once. The double-hull ships will have a capacity of 83,000 cu. m. each.

Ship Owner Mediterranean Shipping Co. S.A. MSC Linzie is the first vessel of a new vessel type developed and designed by Hanjin which adopts the new Panamax length design of 294.05 m. Apparently the design series and Hanjin's well-established reputation in this niche has proved attractive, as the company has, to date, logged orders for 24 ships of the new design. As mentioned above, its length is the maximum for Panama canal, i.e. 294 m. So it has been designed to move flexibly both in Pacific Ocean and in Atlantic Ocean through Panama canal, which is one of the main feature that makes it popular among the operator. This ship offers the maximum intake of 5,060TEU.

As editors, much of our time is spent reading and evaluating, examining a wealth of information to help us determine in which direction particular market segments are heading; trying to forecast “what's hot ... what's not.” Given that this is the Offshore Annual edition, much of my reading and discussions of late have centered on offshore oil and gas production, and the myriad of political and market forces that ultimately determine the "what," "where's," "when's" and "how much" of offshore drilling. My insightful conclusion: Throw all of the reports and data in a trusty centrifugal, give it a whirl, grab the third thing to fly out and you are just as likely to be on the mark. Or not!

LNG (liquefied natural gas) is natural gas, primarily methane, which has been cooled to its liquid state at -260°F (162.2°C). Liquefying natural gas reduces the volume it occupies by more than 600 times, making it a practical size for storage and transportation. How is LNG shipped? • Specially designed ships are used to transport LNG to U.S. import terminals. • All LNG ships are constructed with double hulls. How are LNG tankers and facilities being kept secure? Security measures for the offshore portions of marine terminals are required by U.S. Coast Guard regulations. The Coast Guard prevents other ships from getting near LNG tankers, while in transit or docked at a terminal. • LNG is not explosive.

The English and Isle of Man courts granted injunctions against Navigator Gas Management (NGM) and Vela Energy Holdings Ltd in a dispute over the proposed long-term chartering of five gas tankers in the Navigator Gas Transport (NGT) fleet managed by NGM. The English injunction forbids NGM from taking any action which amounts to a denial of the existence of the Montanari charters and from suggesting to any third parties that the charters are ineffective. This follows claims made by NGM in the trade press and in brokers' reports that the Montanari charters, concluded on November 30 last year, are invalid. Group. Vela claims to have bought 51 per cent of the shares in Arctic…

The gas market is exciting, but only for those with a steady nerve and long-term commitment. Over 20 new LNG import projects have been mooted for the U.S. alone. We are witnessing an unprecedented expansion of shipping capacity to meet this and worldwide expansion of demand. Nearly 30 percent of the world fleet of LNG ships by gross tonnage (excluding options) have been ordered within the past two years. A number of these are already earmarked for U.S. import projects. If these projects succeed many more ships will be needed. The price of gas has still not recovered above the magical $3.50 to make projects profitable - what will happen to these projects? Will we see a glut of LNG ships as these orders hit the seas in the next three years as we now see in the box ship sector?