South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has developed its own LNG containment system called DSME Cargo Containment System 16 (DSC16), the company said.
The new system characterized by the use of wooden materials aims at minimizing gas losses caused by evaporation during transportation in rough sea waters, Korean Pulse News reports.
With the development, the company expects to ensure cost competitiveness, no longer paying royalties to Gaztransport and Technigaz S.A. (GTT), a French engineering company with proprietary rights in cargo containment for transport and storage of LNG.
The company says that around 310 LNG carriers are equipped with GTT’s containment systems.
According to DSME, South Korean shipbuilders have paid royalties to the French company worth around KRW 12 billion (USD 10.3 million) per LNG ship.
DSME has already secured approval for DSC16 from domestic and some international classification societies, still pending a reply from USCG. The system also meets requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Gas Code (IGC).
In addition, Royal Dutch Shell is said to be interested in the first system.
DSME is pretty busy with construction of LNG carriers, having launched construction of six LNG newbuildings in December that are being built for Teekay Corporation.
Five of these 173,400 cubic meter M-type, Electronically Controlled, Gas Injection (MEGI) engine LNG newbuildings are under time-charter contracts with Royal Dutch Shell. The remaining, H2461, is committed to the Bahrain project.
World Maritime News Staff