Signum Technology Group company KLAW LNG, a specialist in ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore LNG transfer systems design and engineering, has delivered a solution for ship-to-ship LNG fuel bunkering
Working with Royal Dutch Shell on its specialised LNG bunker vessel Cardissa, KLAW LNG has successfully engineered a compact level 2 Safety Integrity Level and Safety Instrumented System (SILSIS) transfer system that enables the Cardissa to become the world’s first SIL2 HTS (Hose Transfer System) for a bunkering vessel.
Jeff Vile, Signum Technology’s sales and compliance director, explained, “The question of safety is always the main driver of technology in LNG transfer and ship-to-ship bunkering is innately challenging due to the need to factor in adverse tide and weather conditions and the unpredictable movement of the two vessels.”
“We are particularly proud that this is the world’s first SIL2 compliant ship-to-ship bunkering HTS system, largely due to the fully-automated Programme Logic Controlled (PLC) Safety Instrumented System, designed to continuously monitor and diagnose for the highest levels of safety and operational readiness,” he said.
“The architecture removes almost all human inputs from the transfer system set up and operation. This maximises cost-efficient availability and vastly reduces the potential for human error. It also ensures that the components work seamlessly together and can be effectively managed over the system’s entire life cycle,” he added.
The integral two-stage ESD emergency shutdown system provides an escalated response on demand, triggered automatically by vessel movement or manually by the crew. The first stage ESD1 shuts down cargo transfer pumps and isolates transfer lines, sounding a warning alarm. These measures inhibit the transfer and mitigate the risk of spillage.
The second stage ESD2, which is also activated automatically or manually, activates emergency release couplings and separates the transfer system.
Following its successful installation, the system has completed its first ship-to-ship bunkering of LNG fuel to the Russian shipping company Sovcomflot’s (SCF Group) LNG-powered Aframax tanker Gagarin Prospect-the first LNG ship-to-ship bunkering in the Port of Rotterdam and the first LNG bunkering of an Aframax tanker.
