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January 2004

LNG transported 1995_1999	Exmar contracts 2 LNGRV carriers 12/28/03
LNG Worldwide Consulting	Izar launches LNG barge	LNG American LNG ports
	Wartsila Dual Fuel Engines Power French LNG Carrier	LNG Terminals Worldwide
	Dual-fuel Engines for LNG carrier
LNG Carriers by Operator	Comparison of LNG ship propulsion plants	LNG Safety: Myths and Legends including Lloyds
LNG Carriers Built in Japan	Comparison of LNG cargo ships
LNG Carriers Other Than Japan and Korea	LNG Carriers Order by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha	The LNGX carrier - a new generation
LNG Carriers Built in Korea	Mitsui O.S.K. Participate in EP Energy Bridge(TM)	Golar LNG signs charter extension with BG Group
	Kvaerner Masa-Yards Inc.
SSLouisana	Imabari LNG Shipbuilding Co	Conversion Tables
Ship Cost	LNG Powered Ship	LNG conversion Factors

LNG Powered Ship "The Viking Energy"	Kaeverner - Maas LNGX re liquefied boil off
LNG Galleon
SSLouisana The SS Louisiana, shown here anchored at Lake Charles, La., was chartered early last year by National Gas Shipping Co. Ltd. of Abu Dhabi and began shipments of LNG in July from Das Island to terminals in Belgium and France. The tanker is owned by Lachmar, a partnership of Panhandle Eastern Corp. subsidiaries. Trunkline LNG Co., another Panhandle Eastern subsidiary, operates the Lake Charles terminal which in 1994 received all waterborne shipments of LNG to the U.S. (Photo courtesy of Panhandle Eastern Corp., Houston)

Ship Cost

Exmar get contracts for specialist LNG carriers
28 December 2003 http://www.mgn.com/newsletter

BELGIUM-based Exmar has secured alternative contracts for its two LNG regasification vessel (LNGRV) newbuildings from interests connected with US-based George Kaiser.

A company statement says: “As a result of these arrangements, the commitments between El Paso and Exmar relating to the LNGRV’s entered into in early 2003 have been terminated.”

It also says: “Exmar is looking forward to working with its new partner to develop the LNGRV projects in the Gulf of Mexico and other locations in which it has committed considerable resources and sees this as a step towards achieving its goal of becoming a strong independent operator in the LNG sector.”

Both vessels will sail under Belgian Flag, and be crewed and technically operated by Tecto, the ship management affiliate of Exmar.

The first of the 138,000 cu m LNGRVs under construction at Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, for delivery in November 2004, has been time chartered for 20 years to newly established Texas-based liquefied natural gas shipper and marketer, Excelerate Energy LP, which is backed by George B. Kaiser of Oklahoma.

The second vessel is to be bought by GKFF Limited, a Gibraltar registered company, for the benefit of the George Kaiser Family Foundation, a charitable foundation endowed by George B. Kaiser. It is intended that both ships will be used to deliver regasified LNG offshore in the Gulf of Mexico through the Energy BridgeTM process, recently acquired from El Paso by Excelerate, as originally intended.

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Golar LNG signs charter extension with BG Group
PrimeZone Media Network 05-08-02

Golar LNG announced that it has signed an extension to the charter agreement for one of its existing LNG carriers, the "Golar Freeze", with BG Group. The present agreement for the Golar Freeze was due to expire in March 2003, and the new agreement will extend the term with 5 years, until March 2008.

This means that after March 2003, BG Group will charter 5 LNG carriers from Golar; the Golar Freeze, the Khannur, the Hilli and the Gimi, all of 125,000 cm size, as well as Golar's first new building, a 138,000 cm membrane ship which will be delivered from Daewoo in March 2003.
According to Executive Vice President of Golar, Mr. Sveinung J. Stoehle, "we are very pleased with this agreement, since it assures long-term employment for all of our prompt capacity, and further underlines the good relationship between Golar and BG, our largest customer."

Betsy Spomer, Head of Global LNG, BG Group said: "This extended charter of the Golar Freeze further consolidates BG's growing LNG position. BG is developing a number of major LNG import and export projects around the world and our shipping capacity plays an important role in underpinning these projects."

Izar launches LNG barge
The Izar Fene Shipyard has launched the platform that will support a natural gas liquefaction plant in Hammerfest, Norway. Following the launch, the platform will be moored in the Spanish shipyard and will undergo hydraulic testing before delivery.
The LNG plant in Norway will be an integral part of the development of the offshore natural gas fields of Albatross, Askeladden, and Snøhvit in the Barents Sea. Gas will be transported through a submarine pipeline to Melkoya Island, where it will be treated and exported as LNG.

The platform is 154 m long, with a 54-m beam, and weighs 10,000 metric tons. It is built of highly elastic steel and has been designed to operate for 50 years.
In mid August, Izar Puerto Real shipyard launched a 138,000-cu-m LNG carrier, the keel for which was laid in September of last year.

The vessel is 284.4 m long, 42.5 m wide, and 25.4 m deep, with a draft of 11.4 m. It is outfitted with two GPH 500-1224 cranes that can lift 12 metric tons at 24 m, two GPS 320-1218 cranes capable of lifting 12 metric tons at 18 m, and one GPS 40-0210 crane that can lift 2 metric tons at 10 m. The vessel is outfitted with four double-membrane tanks that will be used to contain the LNG.

According to Izar, the company is the only European' shipyard that has LNG units under construction and is among the few in the world capable of designing and building these kinds of vessels.

Imabari LNG Shipbuilding Co
Imabari Hops on LNG Tanker Train With the liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier market exploding and world demand for LNG tankers at about six per year by 2015, new builders are entering the LNG market. Imabari Shipbuilding Co. will start operations in the construction of LNG transport ships of 145,000 cubic meters each and plans to complete the first carrier by 2006.

The market is quite competitive, especially with China entering the market recently. In Japan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsui, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are among the big five competing with South Korean Samsung and Daewoo to regain market share in LNG ship construction.

Cost is where South Korean shipbuilders have out-done their Japanese counterparts, and once Chinese shipyards gain experience, they are expected to give both Japanese and Korean shipbuilders a tough time in the market.

Mitsui O.S.K. Announces Participation in the EP Energy Bridge(TM)
Tokyo, Japan, June. 07, 2002 - (JCN Newswire)

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL)(www.mol.co.jp), having entered into a long-term charter party agreement with subsidiaries of El Paso Corporation, a major U.S. energy company, announced that MOL has decided to participate in the EP Energy Bridge(TM), a new ship-based liquefied natural gas regasification system designed and developed by El Paso Global LNG. MOL, together with EXMAR (www.exmar.be) Belgian CMB's gas tanker division, ordered four LNG carriers with tank capacity at 138,000 cubic meters from a Korean shipyard, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, and three out of the four LNG carriers are to be converted to the EP Energy Bridge(TM) vessels. Deliveries of the Energy Bridge vessels will start in 2004.

The EP Energy Bridge(TM) ships can regasify and deliver up to 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. An EP Energy Bridge(TM) ship connects to pipeline infrastructure through an offshore buoy and turret system that has been used worldwide, including approximately 10 years of service in the harsh weather environment of the North Sea. As the LNG ship arrives at the unloading site, the buoy is pulled into a receiving cone and connected to the ship. The LNG is then regasified aboard the ship and the vaporized LNG is discharged through the buoy into the sub-sea pipeline system.

For continuous flow of natural gas, a typical EP Energy Bridge(TM) system will have two offloading buoys to ensure uninterrupted delivery. El Paso anticipates the initial EP Energy Bridge(TM) sites will be in the Gulf of Mexico and along the U.S. East coast. This new technology is viewed as enhancing flexibility of the LNG carriers within the original hull design while retaining the ability to act as conventional LNG carriers.

Exmar is the gas transportation operating company of CMB (Compagnie Maritime Belge) (www.cmb.be), which is the largest Belgian shipping group, quoted on the Belgian Stock Exchange. Exmar is one of the largest independent operators of gas tankers in the world commercially controlling a diversified fleet of 50 ships ranging from 138,000 cubic meters LNG carriers down to 1,600 cubic meters pressurized LPG carriers. Of these 8 are LNG carriers.

About Mitsui O.S.K Lines Limited Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. was founded in 1964 by a merger that joined Mitsui Steamship Company with OSK Line. As such, can claim a pedigree stretching back more than a century to the origins of Japanese shipping. It is an operator of shipping with a fleet including containerships, tankers and specialised carriers for a range of products and commodities; real estate and resort development; airship leasing, consulting, computer services and cruise ship operation. Overseas transportation accounted for 80% of fis 2001 revenues; warehousing, 6%; port-harbor transportation., 5%; ferry operations, 4% and other, 5%. For further information, please visit the Mitsui O.S.K Lines Limited home page at: www.mol.co.jp/menu-e.shtml

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LNG Carriers Building Order Placed by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha
Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.(MES) and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI) recently received an order of building 2 units (one unit by each company) of MOSS type 140,000 m3 LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) carriers from Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. ("K" Line).
The shipbuilding contract for the LNG carriers was previously signed on December 19, 2001 in London and the Long-Term Time Charter for Snovit LNG project in which the subject LNG carriers were expected to engage was signed simultaneously.
Validation of such contracts, however, was subject to the approval for the Snohvit LNG project by the Norwegian National Assembly. Such condition was met recently eventually validating the subject shipbuilding contract on June 3, 2002.

The building order of the LNG carrier was placed to MES and KHI because the safety and the technical reliability of the many LNG carriers built by them was highly appreciated by the ship owner. The delivery of two LNG carriers are expected to be in the latter half of 2005 and the former half of 2006 respectively.

Principal Particulars
Length about 289.50 meters Breadth about 48.40 meters Depth about 26.50 meters Draft about 11.95 meters LNG Tank Capacity about 140,000 cubic meters

Kvaerner Masa-Yards Inc.
A Finnish shipbuilding company with long traditions of producing technically demanding ships. Shipbuilding in the Turku area dates back to 1737 and the shipyard in Helsinki were established in 1865. Over the years, the shipyards have built more than 2,000 ships.

LNG carriers for ADNOC
A series of four 135,000 m³ LNG carriers were ordered by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) from Kvaerner Masa-Yards Turku shipyard. The new four-tank vessel design has proven to be very successful in transporting LNG shipments from Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Company (ADGAS) to Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in Japan.

four similar tanks for simplicity and ease of operation
very low boil-off in actual operation which leads to an increase in cargo carrying capacity
low power consumption and excellent seakeeping performance allowing a high sea margin
very good manoeuvrability despite the large cargo capacity
very low vibration and noise level of the hull and machinery which assures low maintenance need, long service life and comfortable crew areas.

Kvaerner Masa-Yards' LNG carrier range
Based on the experience gained from the 135,000 m³ LNG carriers Kvaerner Masa-Yards has developed a new generation of LNG carriers with cargo capacities ranging from 45,000 m³ up to 180,000 m³. A range of different designs has been developed.

The LNGX carrier - a new generation
Kvaerner Masa-Yards has developed a new generation of Moss-type LNG carriers that remarkably improves *) the transportation economy. The new generation LNGX carriers:

increase the cargo capacity with new stretched patented spherical tanks
have no boil-off due to new compact size onboard reliquefaction plant
have remarkably reduced fuel costs through diesel-electric machinery
have fully azimuthing electric propulsion which gives excellent maneuverability and fuel efficiency - reduced need for harbor tug assistance
have optimized ship size through a wide range of spherical tanks or stretched spherical tanks.

*) Depending on application, up to 25 percent of the transportation economy can be improved, compared to using existing type of vessels.

Wartsila Dual Fuel Engines Power French LNG Carrier

Wärtsilä Corporation has received an order to supply four 6L50DF dual-fuel engines to power a 75,000-m3 LNG carrier contracted by the French gas holding company Gaz de France at the French shipyard Chantiers de l'Atlantique. Due for delivery in 2004, the newbuilding is breaking away from traditional practices in the propulsion of LNG (liquefied natural gas) carriers. It will be the first LNG carrier to be powered by electric propulsion, and one of few to have internal-combustion engines instead of the more usual steam turbine plant.

The four dual-fuel engined generating sets will meet all the ship's propulsion and shipboard electrical requirements. The Wärtsilä 6L50DF engines each develop 5700 kW at 514 rev/min.
The GIT-CS1 membrane-type vessel will transport LNG from Skikda in Algeria to Fos near Marseilles. The round trip voyage will take about one week at a service speed of 16 knots, which can be achieved with three of the four generating sets. The ship is also designed for spot market trading, such as voyages to the USA, during which the service speed can be increased to 18.5 knots, using all four generating sets.

Dual-fuel Engines for LNG carrier
11 December 2003 MarineTalk

Wartsila Corporation has been awarded a contract by the French shipbuilder Chantiers de l'Atlantique to supply dual-fuel main engines for a new 153,000m3 LNG carrier. The vessel will have gas-electric propulsion, with four dual-fuel engines driving generators to supply electricity for the single propeller plant. The engines will burn boil-off cargo gas with a small quantity of liquid fuel for ignition. They will mainly run on gas with liquid fuel as back up, and can be switched over automatically as the need arises.

There will be three 12V50DF engines and a single 6L50DF engine. Their combined output is 38.5 MW, with the 12-cylinder engines each developing 11400 kW at 500 rpm and the six-cylinder engine 5700 kW at the same speed. Whilst making maximum use of the gas fuel (boil-off from the cargo of liquefied natural gas) to develop useful power, 50DF engines have much lower fuel consumption overall and thus lower operating costs than the conventional steam turbine plant. The engines also have substantially lower stack emissions than a steam plant. Their NOx emissions are about one-tenth those of the equivalent diesel engines and CO2 emissions are also reduced.

Developed from Wartsila's type 46 diesel engines, the 50DF engines have cylinder dimensions of 500 mm bore by 580 mm piston stroke. Available in configurations with six, eight and nine cylinders in line, and 12, 16 and 18 cylinders Vee-form, the engines develop 950 kW per cylinder MCR at 500 rev/min.

Gas fuel is supplied at a low pressure (less than five bar) to the engines. In gas mode, the engines operate according to the lean-burn Otto process. Gas is admitted into the air inlet channels of the individual cylinders during the intake stroke to give a lean, premixed air-gas mixture in the engine combustion chambers.

Reliable ignition is obtained by injecting a small quantity of diesel oil directly into the combustion chambers as pilot fuel, which ignites by compression ignition as in a conventional diesel engine.