GTT said that it received the AIP from Bureau Veritas for its innovative bunker mast design, REACH4.
The use of LNG as a fuel for all types of transport vessels is evolving, and with it comes the requirement for basic equipment to ensure safe and simple LNG bunkering.
GTT has drawn on years of experience with LNG to create a bunker mast system called REACH4. It is designed to fit on the LNG bunker vessel, permitting a simple and safe transfer of LNG fuel to a client vessel. Developed by GTT engineers, this new system applies well-proven methods for conventional fuelling adapted to constraints specific to LNG. GTT’s REACH4 is well-suited to bunker most ships, whatever their bunker station arrangement.
With safety being of utmost importance, REACH4 will be fitted with break-away couplings for safe and reliable emergency disconnections. A patented configuration prevents rapid disconnections and keeps the breakaway couplings in a fixed position on the mast to ensure simple and safe deployment.
GTT is currently in discussions with numerous partners, both equipment manufacturers and end users, to ensure that the final design is adapted to the needs of the market as a whole. The system is already being integrated in bunker vessels designs.
Press Release, September 9, 2014; Image: GTT