NLI Unveils Concept for Large Volume LNG Bunker Barge

HTB has a 4,000 m3 capacity LNG tank.

Norwegian offshore oil and gas engineering specialist NLI Solutions (NLI) announced in an emailed press release today that it has developed a concept for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge based on its new LNG tank design.

The HighTechBarge (HTB) concept has been further developed in a design study together with the Marine division of Rolls-Royce and Wilhelmsen Technical Solutions (WTS).

The tank, which Ship & Bunker reported last week received an approval in principal from Det Norske Veritas (DNV), was jointly developed by NLI and WTS.

NLI said one limiting factor in the adoption of LNG as a marine fuel is practical availability of LNG bunker facilities, and LNG bunker barges are the "missing link" in the LNG supply chain.

Only one example is currently in existence, which is capable of carrying 187 m3 of LNG.

However ocean-going ships need to bunker several thousand cbm, it said.

The gas powered HTB aims to address the problem by using a 4,000 m3 LNG capacity version of NLI's atmospheric, prismatic steel tank, which the company says will be fitted with a new insulation system for very low levels of boil off gas.

That boil off gas will be handled by a large boil off tank that will also deliver gas to the engine, and excess boil off gas will also be able to be delivered to a shoreside gas grid.

Cost and space considerations mean there will be no re-condensation equipment on the barge.

HTB will be equipped with podded propulsion similar to those used in offshore support vessels as well as state-of-the-art electronics for early threat detection.