Unconventional inland LNG carrier design for the river Danube

Abstract

Given the global state of the energy markets, as well as the unpredictable future of the natural gas supply by the way of pipelines, it seems desirable to find another way of transport of this energent to end users in the inner part of Europe. The paper investigates whether inland waterway transport on the Danube could present a viable alternative in that respect and focuses on development of an LNG carrier that would be specifically designed for the Danube. Also, the paper will examine the implications of the extension of the service of the proposed design to the coastal areas of the Black Sea. As the shallow water sectors (at some places with depth well below 2.5 m) represent the main obstacle to development of navigation on the Danube, the proposed inland vessel should have a draught considerably shallower than existing, standard European inland cargo ships. This requires some additional considerations that go beyond present shipbuilding practice and conventional rules. In addition to shallow draught, the main design features of the inland vessel would be the following. The inland vessel is to be designed with the dual-fuel propulsion, with boil-off gas being used as the main propulsion fuel. Special attention will be paid to energy-efficiency and the CO2 emissions, aiming at the inland vessel that would be as environmentally friendly as possible. The cargo tanks are foreseen to be independent from the inland vessel’s structure; by separating them from the hull, the inland vessel could be used for transport of bulk cargo or containers. Additionally, the paper will provide an overview of existing regulations referring to transport of the LNG by inland waterways but it will also address the applicability of the rules valid for the seagoing ships i.e. International Code of the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk (IGC Code) and International Code of Safety for Ships using Gases or other Low flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code).