Previously, IMO rules greatly limited the size of LNG tank installations, causing concerns that vessels would have to refuel at every port of call, which, despite the lower cost of LNG, would make the fuel unworkable for many.
The rules give two options for tank placement; either the tanks can be placed either a distance from the hull of at least 20% of the width of the ship, putting a great deal of structure between the tanks and a possible collision, in the style of LNG carrier design; or alternatively, made shorter, so as to distance them from a potential strike area.
Interferry regulatory affairs director Johan Roos welcomed the move. “The IMO decision provides a predictable framework for the protection of LNG tanks and removes concerns over rules that in effect would have made LNG non-accessible as a fuel for ferries due to too restrictive requirements on tank location and size,” he said in a statement to the press.
He concluded: “Interferry looks forward to renewed IMO debate on developing a more sophisticated approach at a later point in time, when much more empirical knowledge will have been accrued by ship designers, ship yards, operators and flag administrations. Currently we can clearly see that this knowledge is lacking, making the sophisticated approach too blunt.”
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