To utilise natural gas as a ship fuel efficiently one way is to liquefy it thereby reducing its volume by over 600 times in the process. In that liquid state it is cryognic in nature and its properties, characteristics and behaviour differ significantly from conventional marine fuels. However, the experience of the LNG marine transport industry shows that, when LNG is handled correctly, the risks can be mitigated and sinificantly. Our oceans are a formidable environment as they are, with over 50,000 ships continuously moving our products, goods and sometimes ourselves around the globe. Add a cryogenically fuel into this business and it is easy to see there needs to be a step change in general awareness and understanding of the fuel and how it is handled. Designing and building a ship to run on gas is one thing, running it safely and seamlessly without spilling a drop or releasing a puff is another, yet this has to be the case as far as natural gas is concerned.
We record any mishaps and analyse incidents – why? because this is how we learn and ensure they do not happen again, change as needs be, then reduce the chance of them happening again.
At SGMF we facilitate membership sourced work groups looking at many issues around safety, for example currently these include Safe Working Distances and Simultaneous Operations for shipping with LNG as a fuel. Our bunkering operational guidelines are the industry reference for the four main methods of fuel transfer and continuously being updated from best operational experience and practice from members.
Join SGMF to share and build upon this experience as the industry undergoes this significant change.