LNG Cargo Operations Program

LNG Operations

Cooling Down Car go Tanks

The det ails provided in this doc ument are relevant to c argo

operations onboard t ypic al membrane t ype N o.9 6 LNG c ar r ier s of

13 0,0 0 0 ~ 14 5,0 0 0 m 3 c apac it y with four c argo t anks and steam

tur bine propulsion system.

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Index
• Coo l i n g D ow n

• L a you t D ra w i n g

• Pre p a ra t i o n

• Monitoring
ƒ ƒ G a s Tra n s p o r t (N o 96)
ƒ ƒ Te ch n i g a z (M AR K I I I) a n d I H I -S PB (I MO B -t y p e)
ƒ ƒ M os s

• Coo l d ow n a n d I n su l a t i o n S p a ce s

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Coo l i n g D ow n

LNG is supplied from the ter minal to the liquid manifold c onnec tion. It is

fed into the c argo tanks via c o oling spray r ings loc ated inside each tank

vapor dome. The gas produc ed in the c argo tanks f lows into the vapor

header via the baf f les at the top of the vapor dome and is then free

f lowed to the ter minal via the vapor crossover and the vapor manifold.

A lter natively, the system may be set up to use the HD c ompressor s to

send the gas to the ter minal.

If the ter minal is unable to handle the volume of gas being produc ed, the

f low rate of LNG liquid will have to be reduc ed to prevent a r ise in tank

pressure. Optimum c ondition will give an LNG liquid f low rate of 10 0 m 3/

hr with a pressure of 5 bar; total c ool down time being about 12 to 15

hour s, preferably with the c ool down rate at bet ween -10 OC to -12 OC per

hour.

For a t ypic al 13 0,0 0 0 m 3 c argo c apac it y LNG c ar r ier having four G as

Transpor t M embr ane N o 9 6 C ont ainment system c ar g o t anks, t he ship

might be f it ted with t wo sets of spray r ings as follows:

Lower spray r ing with small bore noz zles (diameter: 3/8 ”)

N oz z l e
Ca rg o ta n k
numbers
N o 1 Tank: 6

N o 2 Tank: 9

N o 3 Tank: 9

N o 4 Tank: 8

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Coo l i n g D ow n Ca rg o Ta n k s

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Upper sprayer r ing with large bore noz zles (diameter: 3/4”)

N oz z l e
Ca rg o ta n k
numbers
N o 1 Tank: 9

N o 2 Tank: 14

N o 3 Tank: 14

N o 4 Tank: 13

S p ra y N oz z l e

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S p ra y N oz z l e

P re p a ra t i o n

It is assumed though unlikely, that all valves are CLOSED pr ior to

operation.

1. Cargo Tanks 1 to 4 vapor dome outlet valves to vapor header opened.

2. Stripping / sprayer header crossover valves opened.

3. Cargo Tanks 1 to 4 Stripping / sprayer header isolating valves opened.

4. Cargo Tanks 1 to 4 larger sprayer nozzles block valves at the vapor

domes opened.

(Normally larger sprayer nozzles on the upper spray ring are used, unless

the nitrogen production system is unable to cope with the rate of cool

down, the smaller nozzles on the lower spray ring may be used instead).

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5. The nitrogen system switched to high flow operation status.

6. In the cargo auxiliaries room at the insulation spaces distribution valves,

relevant valves are opened and (Using the Control System) the set point
on the Primary Insulation Supply control is set to 5.0 mbar and pressure

reading checked to be taken from the primary header.

The set point on the Secondar y Insulation Supply control is set to 6.0

mbar and pressure reading checked to be taken from the primar y header.

7. Using the Control System the set points of the insulation spaces exhaust
control valves is set as follows: Secondar y Exhaust 6.5 mbar, Primar y

Exhaust 3.5 mbar

As the pr imar y and sec ondar y insulation spac es c o ol down, the

supply and exhaust set points c an be lowered ac c ordingly.

8. The stripping/spray line isolating valve at liquid manifold opened.

9. The vapor crossover valve opened.

10. The vapor manifold valve opened.

11. Cargo tank 1 to 4 spray hydraulic valves at the vapor domes opened.

12. Terminal requested to supply LNG at a steady pressure of 5 bar. Liquid

is being supplied to the spray rings at each vapor dome. The supply

valves being par tially open to restrict flow and hence initial boil- of f and

pressure rise.

13. Tank pressures closely monitored and when conditions stabilize, the tank
spray control valves further opened to increase flow. If the temperature

cool down rate is too high, the spray control valves adjusted by throttling in

14. Initially in most terminals it may not be necessary to start the HD

compressors since the back-pressure on the gas return line will not be high.

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15. However as the operation gets under way the amount of gas generated

is likely to be considerable, thus the requirement of the HD compressors

is a distinct possibility.

16. Following are operational procedures to follow if the HD compressors

are required:

i. Both HD c ompressor s are prepared for use.

ii. Using the Control System, the set point of both HD c ompressor s
vane c ontrol valves are adjusted to the required value.

iii. HD inlet valves opened.

iv. H D outlet valves opened.

v. Compressor supply to the manifold valve opened.

vi. Vapor header supply to c ompressor s valve opened.

vii.The vapor cross over valve closed

viii.Using the Control System, one HD c ompressor star ted.

( The sec ond HD c ompressor star ted when the situation is stable).

17. Cargo tanks pressures and temperature reduction are closely

monitored. Tank spray c ontrol valves are adjusted as nec essar y to

ensure even c o ol down of all t anks.

18. The insulation spac es pressure and supply of nitrogen to these

spac es are also closely monitored. If pressure in pr imar y spac es

falling, close to atmospher ic the supply of Nitrogen to the spac es is

inc reased and ensured to maint ain positive pres sure in supply line.

If pressure in pr imar y insulations falls below - 3 0 mbar g with

pressure in the sec ondar y spac es maintained at atmospher ic or just

above, shore shall be asked to reduc e f low of LNG.

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19. When the cargo tanks bottom temperature reaches -100 OC the spray

control bypass valves are opened to maintain the same cool down rate.

20. When all tanks have attained the required temperature (i.e -100 OC at top,

-130 OC at bottom). At this stage two lines of action are possible:

i. Either proc eeds directly with loading by opening the liquid

manifold double shut valves and all c argo tanks loading valves.

ii. If for some reason loading c annot be st ar ted immediately shore

to asked to stop the supply of LNG.

21. If there is to be an interruption between the end of cooldown and the

star t of loading it is recommended to proceed with cooldown until

the temperature of the tank bottoms are close to -160 OC with a few
centimeters of liquid at tank bottoms.

This is because the tanks temperatures will go up again quickly if the

insulation spaces around are still relatively warm.

22. The cargo tanks stripping/spray header valves are lef t opened to allow

the lines to warm up to the ambient air temperature before closing them.

23. Cargo system reset and prepared for loading.

24. When insulation spaces temperatures stabilizes (normally 24 hours af ter

the operation) nitrogen system is returned to normal flow.

25. Using the Control System the set point on the Primary Insulation Supply

control is set to 3.0 mbar and the Secondary Insulation Supply control is set

to 4.0 mbar. pressure reading checked to be taken from the primary header.

26. Using the Control System the set points of the insulation spaces exhaust

control valves is set as follows: Secondar y Exhaust 5.0 mbar, Primar y

Exhaust 4.0 mbar.

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Monitoring

To ac hieve a total c ool down time being about 12 to 15 hour s the

parameters associated with Cooling down should be as follows -

Matter Re q u i re d va l ues
Optimum LNG liquid f low rate 10 0 m 3/ hr with a pressure of 5 bar

Cool down rate Bet ween -10 OC to -12 OC/ hr

Temperature reading of the  10 0 OC at top

ther moc ouples on the tr ipod mast

 13 0 OC at bot tom

G a s Tra n s po r t (N o 96)

The temperature reading of the ther moc ouples on the tr ipod mast,

membranes and insulation spac es are monitored dur ing c ool down and

subsequent loading and the c ooling down operation is c ompleted when

eac h t ank has temperature s of -10 0 OC at the top and -13 0 OC at the

bot tom of the tr ipod mast.

Tech n i g a z (M AR K I I I) a n d I H I -S PB (I M O B -t y p e)

Cool down of c argo tanks is c onsidered c omplete when the mean

temperature of the sensor s in each c argo tanks indic ate a temperature

of -13 0 OC or lower. Nor mally from design point of view, it is ac c ept able

to load when the mean temperature is - 8 0 OC, however it is rec ommended

c ontinuation of the c o ol down operation of the c argo tank to -13 0 OC as

required by most ter minals.

M os s

Cool down of c argo tanks is c onsidered c omplete when the temperature

of the tank shell at the equator has dropped to at least -113 O

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Coo l d ow n a n d I n su l a t i o n S p a ces

Dur ing c ool down the volume of nitrogen in the pr imar y insulation

spac es will decrease due to the reduction in temperature and it will

be nec essar y to chec k the nitrogen supply f low to the pr imar y and

sec ondar y spac es.

If the demand of nitrogen is greater than the produc tion of the t wo (2)

Nitrogen produc tion unit s, the pressure in the pr imar y insulation may fall

below atmospher ic and the c ontrol of the outlet valve from the Nitrogen

storage tank end of the inlet valve to the pr imar y insulations will have to

be done manually to ensure that a positive pressure is maintained in the

supply line.

The sec ondar y insulations have to be maint ained at atmospher ic

pressure or slightly above (+0.5 mbar). The pressure in the pr imar y

insulation c an be allowed to fall up to - 3 0 mbar g without danger.

If the pressure in the primar y insulations were to fall below - 30 mbar g the

c o oling down would have to be slowed down. This ef fect will c ontinue

until af ter the tanks have been c o oled and loading has st ar ted due to the

time taken for the temperature of the insulation to fall.

It is advisable to raise the pr imar y insulation spac es pressure to 6

mbar and the sec ondar y insulation spac es pressure to 3 mbar pr ior to

c ommenc ement of c o oling down.

These initial pressures ease the demand on the nitrogen produc tion

system. In addition the nitrogen storage tank should be topped up to be

at ma ximum wor king pressure.

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