ABS, a leading provider of classification services to the global marine and offshore industries, has been selected to class two Liquefied Natural Gas Carriers (LNGCs) for SK Shipping, featuring the KC-1 cargo containment system (CCS).
The agreement brings to five the number of LNGCs to be built to joint ABS/KR class for Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS), the world’s largest LNG importer.
Two 174,000 cu m LNGCs will be built with the KOGAS-developed KC-1 CCS for SK Shipping at the Samsung Heavy Industries yard in South Korea. An additional three 174,000 cu m LNGCs, featuring the No 96-type CCS, two for Korea Line Corporation and one for Hyundai LNG Shipping, will be built at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.
Upon delivery, the ships will be chartered to KOGAS and will carry shale gas from the United States to South Korea beginning in 2017.
KOGAS developed the KC-1 CCS in a seven-year joint development project with shipyards Hyundai, Samsung and Daewoo. The primary concept of the KC-1 system is to minimize the impact of primary barrier deformation on the insulation system from the hull. The system uses 1.5 mm corrugated stainless steel membrane as the primary and secondary barriers, and polyurethane foam with a density of 115 kg/m3 as the insulating material, an arrangement normally used in shore-based storage.
ABS issued an Extended Approval in Principal and General Design Approval for the system in 2014.