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Productionplant Importterminal(~200 000 m3)

Portterminal(~10 000 m3)

LNGfuelledvessel

Due to the upcoming regulations on sulphur emissions, LNG as a marine fuel has become a more interesting alternative in the last few years. However, in order to become a realistic alternative to today’s oil products, LNG must also be available for bunkering in ports. Hence, an effective infrastructure for LNG is essential in order to make it feasible as a new fuel for the mari-time market. LNG related studies have been an important area at SSPA for many years and a large share of today’s LNG fleet has passed SSPA’s tests and design support. Clients have consulted SSPA for studies and advice on LNG key issues such as terminal layout, port operations, risk analysis, bunkering operations, and infrastructure devel-opment.

Amongthemanyon-goingLNGprojectsatSSPAisonethatinvestigatesthepossibilitiesofdevelopingamoreeffectiveinfrastructureforaccesstoLNGforthemari-timemarket.TheaimistoidentifypotentiallocationsofnewmaritimeterminalsforimportofLNGtoSwedishports.

Location criteria and important parametersInordertofindoutwhichoftheseportsarethemostappropriatelocationofanewLNGterminal,severalareasneedtobetakenintoaccount.Perhapsthemostimportantfactoristhestrategicgeographiclocationoftheport,whichincludesnotonlytheamountofsuitableandinterestedtrafficintheport,butalsothepossibilitiesofofferingquick,effectiveandcustomisedbunkeringsolu-tionstoalltypesoftraffic.

Oneofthemainparametersthataportmustcon-siderbeforedecidingtoestablishaLNGterminalistheavailablemarketforbunkeringofLNG.Thepotentialmaritimemarketmustnotonlybeevaluatedonthebasis

ofthecurrentsituation,butalsowithafutureperspectiveinmind.DependingonthepoliticalincentivesandtheoutcomeofthecurrentdiscussionsonhowthefutureregulationsonemissionsofSOXandNOXwillactuallybefulfilled,thenumberofLNGfuelledvesselsmayvary.

OneshouldalsoconsiderthatashipbasedimportofLNGcanfurtherimprovethesupplysecurityandflexibilityforotherusersofnaturalgas,whicharetodaydependentonaworkingpipelinenetworkortruckdeliv-eries(e.g.industryandlandtransport).Synergyeffects,however,arehighlydependentonaneffectivedistributionsystemonthelandside.

From big scale to small scaleCurrently,themostcommontypeofLNGtankeristheimporttypeofvessel,withcommonsizesintherangeof80000m3–260000m3ThesevesselsareusedforlargescaleimportofLNGandtheytypicallytravelfromproducingcountries,suchasQatar,toendusersinUSA,EuropeorSouthKorea.Thesevesselsaretoolargetobeusedforimporttosmallerterminals,andtheonlyterminalplannedforinNorthernEuropeforthistypeofimporttankerisŚwinoujścieinPoland.

AmongthesmallerLNGtankers,feedervessels,withsizesbetween7500m3–20000m3arebecom-ingmorecommon,especiallyinNorthernEurope.Thesetypesofvesselsareidealforthesmallercoastalandinlandwaterstrafficandtheycanbeusedfordistribut-ingLNGtosmallerterminalsinportsalongtheSwedishcoastline.

ThekeyissueformaritimeuseofLNGasafuelisstillbunkering.Onshoreinstallationscouldbedifficulttointegratewithaportinfrastructureandtruckscanonlysupplysmalleramountsoffuelwithinagiventimeframe.Thus,abunkervesselismostoftenneededinordertoachieveaneffectivebunkeringsolutionthatcanprovidesufficientamountsofLNGwithinareasonabletime.

Infrastructure development for access to LNG bunkering in ports

Edvard Molitor, Project Manager at SSPA, has a M.Sc. degree in Aquatic and Environmental Engineering from Uppsala University. He has previously worked as a Response Adviser for the Swed-ish Coast Guard Headquarters and as a Project Officer for Pollution Response at the Euro-pean Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). He joined SSPA in 2009 and works in the Mari-time Operations department with marine pollution response, risk analyses, and environmen-tal management.Telephone: +46-31 772 90 02E-mail: edvard.molitor@sspa.se

IMPORT VESSEL(~150 000 m3)

PIPELINE

FEEDER VESSEL(~12 000 m3)

BUNKER VESSEL(~1 000 m3)

TANK STATION

TRUCK(~50 m3)

An example of a possible transport chain for maritime use of LNG.PHOTO: JOHANGAHNSTRÖM,REXFEATURES / IBLBILDBYRÅ,KARL-JOHANRAGGL, J IMSANDKVIST

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Geographical and technical conditionsThemostimportantgeographicalissueis,ofcourse,thelocationoftheportinrelationtothetrafficandthepotentialmarket.However,fairways,turningareasandportlayoutarealsoveryimportant,toterminaldesigninordertoreachareasonablelevelofsafety.Tocomplywiththeexistingregulationsandrecommendations,itisimportanttotakeintoaccounttheinteractionwithotheractivitieswithintheport,andtooptimisetheportlayoutanddesigninthesurroundingarea.ThisisparticularlyimportantsinceLNGhandlingispotentiallydangerousworkandthereforerequireshighlevelsofoperationalsafety.

Technical solutions and continued record of safetyDespitethemanyrisksandconsiderationsthatneedtobeassessed,LNGhasneverthelessprovedtobeasafechoiceoffuelandthroughoutthehistoryofmaritimeLNGtransport,therehavebeenfewincidentsandalmostnoaccidents.Onemustrememberthough,thatLNGisstillahazardoussubstanceandthesafetyrecordisthustheresultofstringentsafetyefforts,whichhavecontinu-

ouslysurroundedthehandlingofLNGinmaritimebusi-ness.Continuingthisrecordofsafehandlingisofutmostimportanceandthiscanonlybeachievedthroughriskawareness,operationaltraining,adequatesafetydistancesduringbunkeringprocessesandwellpreparedcontin-gencyplansonalllevels.

Future development and challengesWithcontinuedeffortstominimizethepotentialrisksandawellplannedinfrastructureforeffectiveaccesstoLNGinSwedishports,LNGhasallthepotentialtobecomethenumberonechoiceoffuelforthemaritimemarket.SSPAisavailabletofurthersupportthedevelop-mentofasafeandefficientLNGinfrastructureforthemaritimemarket,andSSPAcanhandleallsortsofchal-lengesregardingLNGdevelopment,includingconflictinginterests,developingpotentials,optimisationoflogistics,terminaldesignandoperationalsafety.

Edvard MolitorJohan Gahnström

Johan Gahnström, Project Manager at SSPA, B.Sc. Nautical Science from 1987, holds an unrestricted master license. Capt. Gahnström joined SSPA December 2010 after being involved in the setup of a new LNG terminal in Soyo, Angola. Before that he was working in Ras Laffan, Qatar and Swedish Maritime Ad-ministration. His background includes work with LNG, VTS, marine piloting, management and cargo control.Telephone: +46 31 772 90 04E-mail: johan.gahnstrom@sspa.se

Infrastructure de-velopment for access to LNG bunkering in ports.ILLUSTRATIONBYCOURTESYOFKRISTIANWIDÉN/TRANSAS

Artist impression of the oil harbor and berthed vessel next to the planned LNG terminal in Gothenburg.ARTIST IMPRESSIONBYCORTESYOFLNGGOT