Bureau Veritas Issues New FSRU Standards

French certification and inspection agency Bureau Veritas has published a new rule (NR645) for the classification of floating storage and regasification units (FSRU), it said October 9. The new rule enables the classification of all types of FSRU assets in a comprehensive and pragmatic manner, and range from units that may operate as a floating terminal for one or more decades to short-term charters with the option of trading as an LNG carrier.  

There will now be notation allowing gas trading as well as floating storage and regasification terminal operations. The notation provides the possibility for exemptions from the traditional class survey regime – such as five year dry-docking survey requirements - when the vessel is in use as an FSRU.

The alternative notation, for units dedicated to pure gas storage and regasification terminal operations and not intending to trade, provides full optimisation for site conditions and a class survey regime as applicable to permanent units with continuous operation requirements.

Bureau Veritas said FSRUs are a "special market with both 'marine' and 'offshore' approaches and requirements involved. So, FSRU projects raise a lot of questions from all stakeholders. These new rules take into account the specific technical, regulatory, operational and environmental requirements of FSRU stakeholders to provide a much higher level of confidence when making significant commercial decisions."

Bureau Veritas is involved in a wide range of LNG projects world-wide, including a growing number of FSRUs, small-scale LNG projects, LNG as fuel projects and the 15 Yamal ice-class ships.

William Powell