Fukui spring loads safety valve orders

Areview of LNG sector business activities for Fukui Seisakusho in recent years shows that 2010 was the quietest year ever for the Japanese safety valve manufacturer. The absence of any orders for LNG carriers meant no contracts for LNG ship safety valves. The past 12 months, however, stand in stark contrast.

As a result of shipowners returning to the LNG carrier newbuilding market in 2011, Fukui now has orders to supply its safety valves for 45 newly contracted LNG vessels. As highlighted in the report on page 30, the majority of these ships are to be constructed at Korean yards for independent shipowners who placed their newbuilding contracts on a speculative basis.

“We have also made a breakthrough into a new LNG sector over the past year, having been contracted to supply our first relief valves for floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) newbuildings,” states Yushiyuki Moriyama of Fukui Seisakusho’s Global Marketing Group. “In contrast to the past LNG carrier-to-FSRU conversion projects, there are now five FSRU newbuildings on order at Korean yards.”

Fukui has also extended its LNG carrier repair yard service network over the past year. The company carried out relief valve servicing work on the 2004-built, 145,000m³ Muscat LNG in October 2011 when it became the first LNG carrier to be repaired at the new Oman Drydock facility in Duqm. As part of the ship’s mid-term drydocking, the spherical cargo tanks and related cargo-handling system were pressure-tested.

Another new Middle East repair yard is the Nakilat-Keppel Offshore and Marine (N-KOM) yard at Ras Laffan. Fukui Seisakusho is also active in the servicing of LNGCs at this facility and, to back up its rising level of repair yard activity in the region, the company has strengthened its Middle East service network in tandem with its partner Fuji Trading. The new Gulf capability puts it on a par with Fukui’s LNGC service presence in Europe, Singapore and Japan.

Fukui Seisakusho is a specialist manufacturer of safety relief valves and the company is able to supply relief valves for applications across the LNG supply chain. These include vacuum breakers and pilot-operated safety valves for low-pressure, low-temperature service in the protection of cargo tanks on conventional LNG carriers, FSRUs and floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels. In addition spring-type and pilot-operated safety valves for high-pressure service in LNG FPSO topsides plant are also available.

“We are confident that this portfolio of equipment will stand us in good stead in the years ahead as the LNG supply chain continues to extend and a range of new projects come to fruition,” concludes Mr Moriyama. LNG