In February Gaz de France ordered a 74,000 cu. m. LNG carrier from Chantiers de l'Atlantique, with an option for a second vessel. The French have maintained a strong hold on this high-tech, high-value ship type despite the general migration of gas ship orders to the Far East. In particular, Bureau Veritas helped develop the concepts for the vessels, and developed unique new rules to allow the yard and owners to break new technological frontiers. "BV has consistently been the world leader in LNG carriage, since development of membrane LNG carriers was first begun," says Bruno Dabouis, commercial manager of BV's marine division. "Now we will class these new vessels, which are a quantum leap forward in cost-effective LNG transportation. The ships have two key innovations.