GTT LNG Carrier Orders at Record Highs

Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT), a company specialised in the design of membrane containment systems for maritime transportation and storage of liquefied gas, said its business activity was marked by a number of successes during the first nine months of 2019, particularly in the field of LNG carriers.

In addition to the 26 orders for LNG carriers booked during the first half of the year, there were an additional 14 bookings in the third quarter of 2019, i.e. a total of 40 LNG carrier orders during the first nine months of 2019.

GTT's core business activity is, therefore, at a particularly high level. All of the carriers will be equipped with GTT's recent technologies (Mark III Flex+, Mark III Flex and NO96 GW). Deliveries are scheduled between end-2020 and end-2022.

In September 2019, GTT's membrane technology was selected for the design of six very large ethane carriers (VLEC) built by the Korean Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyards on behalf of the Chinese company Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical. These second generation ethane carriers will be the largest ever built in the world (98,000m³).

Designed for multi-gas use, i.e. to transport ethane as well as several types of gas such as propylene, LPG and ethylene, these six vessels will also be "LNG ready", offering the possibility of containing LNG in the future without the need to convert the ship's tanks.

At the end of September, GTT announced the signing of a contract with Saren BV (a joint venture between Renaissance Heavy Industries Russia and Saipem) for the design and construction of three GBS terminals (Gravity Based Structures) dedicated to the Arctic LNG 2 project.

The contract concerns the design, construction studies and technical assistance for the membrane containment systems of the LNG and ethane tanks which will be installed inside the three GBS terminals.

The first two GBS terminals will be equipped with two LNG tanks, each with a capacity of 114,500m³, and an ethane tank of 980m³. The third GBS terminal will be equipped with two LNG tanks of 114,500m³ each.

The GBS terminals, which will lie on the seabed, will consist of concrete caissons with membrane containment tanks using GTT’s GST technology. The units will be built in a dry dock at Novatek-Murmansk LLC. They will then be towed and installed in their final location in the Gydan peninsula in Russian Arctic.