World's First Ballast-Free LNG Bunkering Vessel on Track for Delivery, Says LR

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday February 6, 2018

Lloyd's Register (LR) today said Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) is set to deliver the world's first ballast-free liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel later in 2018.

The 7,600 cubic metre (cbm) vessel, which was ordered by Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement in 2016, is currently under construction to LR class at HMD's Ulsan shipyard.

"Since the introduction of steel-hulled vessels, ballast water has been essential for the safe and efficient operation of vessels, but it also poses an ecological, economic and health threat because of the increased number of species that could be moved from one place to another," said LR, noting the the entry into force of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO's) Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention in September 2017.

"HMD is looking to address this problem through the development of this vessel without the need for a ballast water treatment system."

LR explains that the ballast-free concept means that the vessel will not need to install a ballast water treatment system, negating the need for compliance under the Performance Standard for Protective Coatings for ballast tanks and related regulation.

As Ship & Bunker has reported, the BWM Convention requires ships to manage their ballast water to remove, render harmless, or avoid the uptake or discharge of aquatic organisms and pathogens within their ballast water and sediments.