The 180,000 cubic metre carrier design features five large 36 metre diameter and 40 metre-high cylinder tanks each capable of holding a volume of 36,000 cubic metres of LNG.
Ocean claims its new tank is an improvement over the traditional spherical LNG containment tank.
The new design is said to maximise void spaces in a tanker’s hull while providing easy access for tank inspections.
Ocean said cargo capacity with the new design could be increased by about 25%. The new proprietary tank -made according to IMO Type B specifications - is based upon the leak-before-failure principle and designed to minimise filling restrictions due to “sloshing effects”.
The man who certified the Ocean design principles, ABS’s senior staff consultant engineering Philip Rynn, said the AIP process used engineering, testing and risk assessments to decide if Ocean’s system met acceptable industry safety levels.
