Technical Report On Mooring For LNG Ships Released By MarAd

The Maritime Administration has released a technical report on the feasibility of a new Single Point Mooring (SPM) concept designed for ships carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other lowtemperature cargoes.

The study was carried out by Donaldson Associates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., under contract to the Maritime Administration.

Additional funding and technical support were provided by Pacific Marine Associates, a jointly held subsidiary of Pacific Lighting Corporation and Pacific Gas & Electric Company.

The cryogenic SPM provides an unmanned, remote tanker mooring and transfer conduct which is operable in an u n u s u a l l y wide range of weather conditions. It does not have liquefaction, storage, or vaporization capability and is, therefore, used in conjunction with an onshore or offshore storage facility.

The study concentrated on five key areas: (1) motion characteristics of the cargo transfer buoy; (2) design of the marine hose assembly; (3) design of a coaxial LNG/vapor swivel in the top of the buoy; (4) a self-sealing disconnect, and (5) pressure drop and thermal analysis for a triaxial pipeline concept.

Positive results were obtained for each of the key areas investigated.

The report concludes that subsequent technical effort can follow the normal design path for new marine systems, namely, test verification of the analytical results obtained.

The final report is available from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Va. 22161, for $5.50. The order number is PB-283474/AS.

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