The guidelines are entitled Comparative sloshing analysis of LNG ship containment systems and provide a means of fulfilling the requirement to take sloshing into account during containment system design in Lloyd’s Register’s Rules and Regulations for the Construction and Classification of Ships for the Carriage of Liquefied Gases in Bulk.

In addition, owners and operators now have a robust method for examining site-specific and voyage-specific partial filling of membrane cargo tanks in both ships and offshore floating structures.

The guidelines adopt a ‘comparative’ approach which involves comparing a proposed design with one for an LNG tanker of 135,000 to 140,000 cu m with conventional tank shape and size to ascertain the ability of the containment system to withstand the sloshing loads it is likely to experience based on the proposed trading pattern of the vessel.

“These guidelines are based on long in-service experience of conventional LNG tankers and groundbreaking, in-depth research,” says Tony Bingham, Global LNG Business Manager, Lloyd’s Register.

“The conclusions reached and the resulting guidelines we have issued will serve to further help enhance LNG ship safety, building on the industry’s experience of vessels of conventional size and giving us the basis for moving forward with the new, larger vessel designs being built by shipyards in the Far East.”

The guidance document is available for download on ClassDirect Live (www.cdlive.lr.org), Lloyd’s Register’s class information web site.