Following the press release of July 8th, 2021, announcing the Approval in Principle (AIP1) from China Classification Society and DNV, GTT has been awarded a new approval in principle from Bureau Veritas (BV), for the “Shear-Water” concept, a new ballast-free LNG bunker and feeder vessel (LNGB&FV), according to the company's release.
The majority of merchant vessels worldwide use ballast water when they are empty or partially loaded in order to maintain seaworthy conditions. Therefore, a considerable quantity of ballast water is carried by ships every day. Even when ballast water is treated, there is a risk of transferring harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens from one area to another. The solution developed by GTT eliminates this risk completely. In addition, removing the ballast water treatment system also reduces the energy consumption and CO2footprint of the vessels. GTT has been developing an approach to eliminate altogether the requirement for ballast water.
The GTT “Shear-Water” concept is based on the currently proven vessel of 18,700 m3 capacity with two membrane tanks. The design also features a new hull shape, in a “V”, which differs from the standard square shaped mid-ship sections traditionally used for LNG carriers.
An exhaustive testing campaign has been carried out at the HSVA Hamburg tank test facility in connection with power-speed, maneuverability and sea keeping. A sloshing test campaign has also been carried out by GTT to ensure the technical feasibility of the project: the excellent results obtained helped approve the concept.