South Korean R&D company, Lattice Technology, received an order for a 15 cubic meter lattice pressure vessel (LPV) LNG fuel tank to be installed onboard a newbuild ship to be deployed for Ulsan Port Authority.
The deal, to equip the vessel to enter service in 2019, is the first commercial contract for an LPV and the first LNG-fueled, public sevice vessel in South Korea, the company said in a statement.
The port cleaning ship is the first project following the Korean government’s recent assertion that it will actively boost LNG-fuelled shipping by ordering LNG-fuelled public service ships and supporting the use of LNG-fueled, commercial ships.
The LPV is designed for 9 barg pressure and its shape is adapted to the specific ship structure, implying that it provides 50 percent more capacity than that of a traditional, cylindrical pressure vessel.
Sunbo Industry will combine the LPV fuel tank with its LNG fuel supply system. The total system will be tested and certified by the Korean Register (KR) and delivered to a Korean shipyard in November of this year.
Keunoh Park , chief sales officer at Lattice Technology said, “the technology enables volumes ranging from 0.5 cubic meters to 50,000 cubic meters and the LPVs can handle design pressures up to 50 bar.”
Much stricter global regulations on marine stack gas emissions (SOx, NOx, CO2 and particle matters) are coming into effect from year 2020.
By effectively addressing the reduction of all such emissions, LNG is considered being a viable alternative to new oil based marine fuels under development and to use of scrubbers for combustion gases.
The new regulatory framework is implemented by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and supported by national and regional authorities such as the Korean Government which is promoting vessels running on LNG.