Survey Procedures
No. :J-05
Issue No.: 02
Revision No. 00
Date :31 Aug., 1997
Gas Code Surveys
Section 2
International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying
Liquefied Gases in Bulk
2.1.
Construction
requirements
and
equipment
Code ( not in the survey rules) have been changed as
appropriate:
2.1.1
There are three IMO Codes applicable to
liquefied gas carriers :
"Administration" ..to "Committee"
"should be" ..to "is to be" or "are to be"
.1
2.2
Code for Existing ships Carrying
Liquefied Gases in Bulk (The
Existing Ships Code). This code
generally applies to ships delivered
before 31st December 1976.
.2
Code for the Construction and
Equipment of Ships Carrying
Liquefied Gases in Bulk (the GC
Code). This code generally applies to
ships built on or after 31st December
1976 but prior to 1st July 1986.
.3
International
Code
for
the
Construction and Equipment of
Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in
Bulk (IGC Code). This code is
mandatory under the provisions of
Chapter VII of the 1974 SOLAS
Convention. It applies to ships the
keels of which are laid on or after 1st
July 1986.
IRS Rules
2.2.1
IRS Rules for Liquefied Gas Carriers
incorporate the text of IGC Code with amendments in
full. The number of various clauses in these Rules are
the same as those appearing in the IGC Code. The
numbering of paragraphs which do not exist in the
IMO Code, but have been included in these Rules for
the purpose of classification have been prefixed by the
letters "IR".
2.2.2
For the purpose of classification the
following words in the construction rules of the IMO
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"chapter" to "section"
"code" .. to "chapter
"
2.3
IGC Code
2.3.1
The purpose of IGC Code is to provide an
international standard for the safe carriage by sea in
bulk of liquefied gases and certain other substances
listed in chapter 19 of the Code (Section 19 of Rules
for Liquefied Gas Carriers), by prescribing the design
and construction standards of ships involved in such
carriage and the equipment they should carry so as to
minimize the risk to the ship, to its crew and to the
environment, having regard to the nature of the
products involved.
2.3.2 The basic philosophy is one of ship type related
to the hazards of the products covered by the code.
Each of the products may have one or more hazard
properties which include flammability, toxicity,
corrosivity and reactivity. A further possible hazard
may arise due to the products being transported under
cryogenic or pressure conditions.
2.3.3 Severe collisions or strandings could lead to
cargo tank damage and result in uncontrolled release of
the product. Such release could result in evaporation
and dispersion of the product and in some cases, could
cause brittle fracture of the ship's hull. The
requirements in the Code are intended to minimize this
risk as far as is practicable, based upon present
knowledge and technology.
Survey Procedures
No. :J-05
Issue No.: 02
Revision No. 00
Date :31 Aug., 1997
Gas Code Surveys
2.3.4 Section 18 of Rules for Liquefied Gas Carriers
(Chapter 18 of the Code) dealing with operation of
liquefied gas carriers highlights the regulations in other
Sections that are operational in nature and mentions
those other important safety features that are peculiar
to gas carrier operations.
2.3.5 The hazards considered in the Code are :
.1
Fire hazard defined by flash point, boiling ,
explosion limit range of the liquefied gases.
.2
Health hazard defined by :
a)
toxicity which can cause a temporary
or permanent health hazard, such as
irritation,
tissue
damage
or
impairment of faculties. Such
hazards may result from skin or
open-wound contact, inhalation or
ingestion; or
b)
Asphyxia which occurs when the
blood cannot take sufficient supply
of oxygen to the brain. In sufficient
concentration any vapour may cause
asphyxiation, whether toxic or not;
or
c)
Anaesthesia which occurs upon
inhalation of certain vapours and
causes loss of consciousness; or
d)
Frostbite which can occur due to
direct contact with cold liquid or
vapour or uninsulated pipes and
equipments. Inhalation of cold
vapour can permanently damage
certain organs (e.g. lungs)
.3
Reactivity defined by a liquefied gas cargoes'
propensity to react in a number of ways: with
water to form hydrates, with itself, with air,
with another cargo or with other materials.
2.3.6
Ship Types
.1
Four ship types are specified in the code.
a)
A Type 1G ship is a gas carrier
intended to transport products indicated in
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Section 19 of Rules for Liquefied Gas
Carriers which require maximum preventive
measures to preclude the escape of such
cargo. It must be able to survive assumed
damage anywhere in its length.
Cargo tanks should be located outside the
extent of the assumed damage and nowhere
less than 760mm from the shell plating.
b)
A Type 2G ship is a gas carrier
intended to transport products indicated in
Section 19 of Rules for Liquefied Gas
Carriers which require significant preventive
measures to preclude the escape of such
cargo. For a ship of more than 150 m length it
must be able to survive assumed damage
anywhere in its length. For a ship of 150 m or
less it must be able to survive assumed
damage any where in its length except
involving either of the bulkheads bounding a
machinery space located aft. Cargo tanks
should be located outside the extent of the
assumed grounding damage and nowhere less
than 760mm from the shell plating.
c)
A Type 2PG ship is a gas carrier of
150 m in length or less, intended to transport
products indicated in Section 19 of Rules for
Liquefied Gas Carriers which require
significant preventive measures to preclude
the escape of such cargo, and where the
products are carried in Independent Type C
Tanks designed for a MARVS of atleast 7 bar
gauge and a cargo containment system design
temperature of -55oC or above. It must be able
to survive assumed damage any where in its
length except involving transverse bulkheads
spaced further apart than the assumed
longitudinal extent of damage. Cargo tanks
should be located outside the extent of the
assumed grounding damage and nowhere less
than 760mm from the shell plating. Note that
a ship of this description but over 150 m in
length is to be considered a type 2G ship.
d)
A Type 3G ship is a gas carrier
intended to carry products indicated in
Section 19 of Rules for Liquefied Gas
Carriers which require moderate preventive
measures to preclude the escape of such
cargo.
Survey Procedures
No. :J-05
Issue No.: 02
Revision No. 00
Date :31 Aug., 1997
Gas Code Surveys
If more than 125 m in length, it should be
capable of surviving assumed damage
anywhere in its length except involving
transverse bulkheads spaced further apart than
the assumed longitudinal extent of damage.
If less than 125m in length it should be
capable of surviving assumed damage
anywhere in its length except involving
transverse bulkheads spaced further apart than
the assumed longitudinal extent of damage
and except damage involving the machinery
space when located aft. However, the ability
to survive the flooding of the machinery space
should be considered by the Administration.
Cargo tanks should be located outside the
extent of the assumed grounding damage and
nowhere less than 760mm from the shell
plating.
.2
The assumed longitudinal, transverse
and vertical extents of side and bottom
damages are given in para Section 2 para 2.5
of Rules for Liquefied Gas Carriers.
supporting tanks which consist of a thin layer
(membrane) supported through insulation by
the adjacent hull structure. The membrane is
designed in such a way that thermal and other
expansion or contraction is compensated for
without undue stressing of the membrane. The
design vapour pressure Po should not
normally exceed 0.25 bar. If, however, the
hull scantlings are increased accordingly and
consideration is given, where appropriate, to
the strength of the supporting insulation, Po
may be increased to a higher value but less
than 0.7 bar.
b)
The definition of membrane tanks
does not exclude designs such as those in
which nonmetallic membranes are used or in
which
membranes
are
included
or
incorporated in insulation. Such designs
require, however, special consideration by the
Administration. In any case the thickness of
the membranes should normally not exceed
10 mm.
.3
2.3.7.
Four basic tank types are mentioned in the Code and
simply put, they are as follows:
.1
Semi-membrane Tanks
Basic Tank Types And Cargo Containment.
Integral Tanks
a)
Integral tanks form a structural part
of the ship's hull and are influenced in the
same manner and by the same loads which
stress the adjacent hull structure. The design
vapour pressure Po should not normally
exceed 0.25 bar. If, however, the hull
scantlings are increased accordingly, Po may
be increased to a higher value but less than
0.7 bar.
b)
Integral tanks may be used for
cargoes having boiling point above - 10oC. A
lower temperature may be accepted by the
Administration
subject
to
special
consideration.
.2
Membrane Tanks
a)
Membrane
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tanks
are
non-self-
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a)
Semi-membrane tanks are non-selfsupporting tanks in the loaded condition and
consist of a layer, parts of which are
supported through insulation by the adjacent
hull structure, whereas the rounded parts of
this layer connecting the above-mentioned
supported parts are designed also to
accommodate the thermal and other
expansion or contraction. The design vapour
pressure Po should not normally exceed 0.25
bar. If, however, the hull scantlings are
increased accordingly and consideration is
given, where appropriate, to the strength of
the supporting insulation, P may be increased
to a higher value but less than 0.7 bar.
.4
Independent Tanks
Independent tanks are self-supporting; they do
not form part of the ship's hull and are not
essential to the hull strength. There are three
categories of independent tanks.
a)
which
Type A independent tanks are tanks
are designed primarily using
Survey Procedures
No. :J-05
Issue No.: 02
Revision No. 00
Date :31 Aug., 1997
Gas Code Surveys
Recognized Standards of classical shipstructural analysis procedures. Where such
tanks are primarily constructed to plane
surfaces (gravity tanks), the design vapour
pressure Po should be less than 0.7 bar.
b)
Type B independent tanks are tanks
which are designed using model tests, refined
analytical tools and analysis methods to
determine stress levels, fatigue life and crack
propagation characteristics. Where such tanks
are primarily constructed to plane surfaces
(gravity tanks) the design vapour pressure Po
should be less than 0.7 bar.
c)
Type C independent tanks (also
referred to as pressure vessels) are tanks
meeting pressure vessel criteria and having a
design vapour pressure not less than a value
dependent on allowable stresses, geometric
characteristics of the tanks and cargo density
and design temperature.
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