Singapore-based ship manager Synergy Group reported the delivery of the floating storage unit (FSU) CNTIC VPower Energy, following its conversion at Sembawang Marine’s Admiralty Yard in Singapore
Synergy oversaw the complex conversion for owner CNTIC VPower, a joint venture of VPower Group and China National Technical Import & Export Corp.
CNTIC VPower Energy was converted from LNGT Powership Anatolia, acquired from Karmol, the joint venture of Karpower and Mitsui OSK Lines. The vessel was originally built in 1992 as Northwest Seaeagle.
With a capacity of 126,000 m3, the FSU will be deployed to Myanmar for an LNG-to-power project. It will be moored permanently to receive and store LNG imports for delivery on demand to an onshore regasification plant which will supply power to local consumers. Synergy will manage, maintain and operate the FSU on an ongoing basis.
Synergy Group chief executive and founder Captain Rajesh Unni said the conversion demonstrated that Synergy was a “single-source technical solution provider of LNG-to-power services.”
Added Captain Unni “A lot of our top quality owners already employ Synergy to manage their newbuilding orders in South Korea, Japan and China and we are currently overseeing more than 30 newbuilding vessel projects. This successful conversion shows once again that we are fully equipped to take on the most complex conversions.”
The project had to overcome workplace and travel restrictions due to Covid-19. Synergy administered the FSU conversion on a one-stop-shop basis, identifying the LNG carrier candidate for conversion and selecting a suitable shipyard. Synergy also managed the design, engineering, procurement and yard oversight process ahead of the FSU delivery and deployment.
More than 100 tonnes of steel renewal and the cumulative addition of over 1,500 m of cryogenic pipes were used in the conversion.
The FSU is designed to offload LNG to the regasification plant at rates of up to 350 m3 per hour during peak demand. The flow rate can be adjusted to as little as 150 m3 per hour during non-peak periods.
Synergy newbuilding department general manager Subodh Borse noted the design includes the addition of four feed pumps in each of the cargo tanks which allows them to hold boil-off gas for longer durations. The addition of emergency release couplings and quick release hooks ensures vessels depart the terminal quickly. “We increased the tank pressure up to 0.7 bars and the design allows the FSU to simultaneously feed LNG to the regasification plant while also offloading LNG to another smaller vessel,” said Mr Borse.
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