GTT and Samsung win AiP for new, three-tank LNGC design

This approval is the result of a Joint Development Project (JDP) initiated in 2022, aimed at designing a new generation of LNGCs.
Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) vice president, shipbuilding engineering division, Youngkyu Ahn, said the "ground-breaking design is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase cargo capacity, minimise operating costs and optimise maintenance efficiency, leading to a new era of LNG carriers. This achievement is a remarkable step in the pursuit of even more innovative vessel designs, and it is with conviction that we pledge to continue to explore and develop innovative designs in the future.”
Results from a study undertaken by the JDP show the three-tank concept will allow an LNG carrier to increase its LNG cargo capacity and improve maintenance efficiencies. This is achieved through the suppression of one cofferdam, one pump tower and all associated cryogenic equipment (liquid and gas domes, valves, piping, radars, etc).
GTT said the improved ratio between the volume of LNG transported and the surface area of the cryogenic liner will make it possible to achieve a boil-off rate as low as 0.080% of tank volume per day with the Mark III Flex technology, compared to 0.085% of the volume per day with the LNGCs currently in operation (based on a 174,000 m³ LNGC).
In addition, this three-tank LNGC design provides an almost equivalent loading time as a standard four-tank LNGC configuration, attributed to an adapted pump tower and the removal of a cofferdam, pump tower and its associated equipment, which reduces the weight of the ship.
GTT chairman and CEO Philippe Berterottière said: “We are proud to be granted with this approval from Lloyd’s Register alongside our long-standing partner Samsung Heavy Industries.”