Japan's K Line, JGC develop new FLNG hull design
Japanese shipping company K-Line and engineering firm JGC Corp have jointly developed a new-concept floating LNG (FLNG) hull design that incorporates existing storage tanks from LNG carriers, the companies said on April 14. The design has received approval in principle from the American Bureau of Shipping.
This design involves transferring and reusing the LNG storage tanks from existing spherical Moss tank carriers in the hulls of new FLNG facilities. Transferring and reusing the spherical Moss tanks from existing LNG carriers means there is no need to build new storage tanks from expensive cryogenic materials, reducing the cost of hull construction.
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The hull contains the LNG storage tanks, as well as the production and liquefaction units on the topside. The LNG storage tanks in the hull require costly cryogenic materials able to withstand temperatures as low as -162°C. Welding together these materials require special technology, which means that FLNG facilities can only be built by a small number of shipbuilders. This leads to high costs and long delivery times.
According to JGC, with the new design, there is a wider choice of shipbuilding yards able to construct the FLNG hulls. This is expected to reduce construction time and cost.
The project is supported by the Japanese ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism.