DNV GL, Partners Team Up on New LPG Carrier Design

Classification society DNV GL has launched a joint industry project LPGreen for the design of a next generation LPG carrier, with partners including Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), Wärtsilä, MAN Diesel & Turbo and Consolidated Marine Management (CMM).  

The project aims to develop a safer vessel for the transportation of LPG products, with improvements in terms of its energy efficiency and environmental track record.

DNV GL said the project partners are to investigate the potential for hull form optimization, improved cargo handling and management systems as well as machinery systems integration using the DNV GL COSSMOS tool.

The partners’ objective is developing a concept that will be ready for implementation as soon as the project is completed.

The LPGreen project is planned to be completed by the end of this year.

Separately, DNV GL has initiated a follow-up of the LNGreen project, with the original partners consisting of GTT, GasLog, HHI included.

DNV GL said the joint development project will build on the learnings from the first project to ‘further increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the concept’. 

“By continuing to investigate new technologies and improve the integrated systems and machinery configurations and the containment system, the project seeks to bring a ready-to-build concept to the market realizing the potential savings in actual operation,” DNV GL further said.

Furthermore, DNV GL announced at the Posidonia trade fair it had issued the first ‘Clean Lay-up’ declaration under its newly released classification guideline.

Specifically, the guideline enables shipowners and managers to demonstrate that their vessel is laid up in a responsible manner, taking into account noise, emission (NOx and SOx), onboard waste and hull cleaning, while fulfilling all safety requirements.

Bluewater’s Munin FPSO, laid up in Labuan, Malaysia, recently received the first declaration of this kind.

“As a result of the tight business climate, we are seeing an increasing number of enquiries from owners and managers who need to put their vessel into lay-up, but want to do this in a way that respects the local environment and the communities around these sites,” Richard Tao, Discipline Leader of DNV GL’s Maritime Advisory and Project Manager for the new lay-up guideline remarked.

Tao further said that the new declaration can be obtained alongside DNV GL’s current lay-up declaration.

Finally, in order for a vessel to receive this declaration, the following aspects are to be evaluated and assessed: mooring arrangement, the safety and security of the vessel lay-up, emergency preparedness, the procedures in place to prevent pollution, air and noise pollution, as well as the antifouling coating treatment and marine growth.