Survey: LNG Usage Developing Fast in Coming Years

By Mark Edward Nero

Liquefied natural gas could account for 13 percent of the bunker fuel market supply by 2020 and 24 percent by 2025, according to a newly released study by Lloyd’s Register.

The results of the 2014 Lloyd's Register’s LNG Bunkering Infrastructural Survey were released April 7. The report surveyed 22 major ports around the globe, including those in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Shipowner demand for LNG was found to be the biggest driver from the ports’ perspective, with the availability of LNG infrastructure being the second most important driver.

Among the report’s other key findings:

• Fifty-nine percent of the ports surveyed have specific plans for LNG bunkering infrastructure. Lack of in-port infrastructure will not hamper LNG bunker delivery plans.
• Seventy-six percent of the ports believe that LNG bunkering operations will commence at their port within five years.
• Seventy-three percent of ports say that LNG will be supplied by existing onshore LNG terminals. In the short term, ports will rely on third party specialist suppliers to supply gas from terminals to ship – mainly by either truck or bunker barge.
• In the longer term, 47 percent of ports said they will have dedicated LNG storage capability for bunkering.
• Eighty-six percent of the ports surveyed indicate that it is either likely (54 percent) or very likely (32 percent) that demand for LNG will be from deep-sea ships within a three to 10-year time horizon.

The study also found that no significant change in bunker delivery methods is anticipated – for example, if HFO bunkers are being supplied by barge today it is expected that LNG will be delivered by barge in future.

The complete survey can be seen at http://go.lrenergy.org/lngsurvey2014.

Engineer Arrested for Stealing Shipbuilding Secrets

Canadian authorities on Dec. 1 arrested a naturalized citizen for allegedly trying to sell national shipbuilding secrets to China.

The arrested man, Qing Quentin Huang, is a Toronto resident employed by Lloyd’s Register Canada. The company is a subcontractor to Irving Shipbuilding, whose projects include the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship project, a vessel procurement plan for the Royal Canadian Navy.

In a statement, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it was notified Nov. 28 that Huang was “taking steps to pass sensitive information” to authorities from the People’s Republic of China.

The information allegedly relates to elements of the Government of Canada National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy, which includes patrol ships, frigates, naval auxiliary vessels, science research vessels and icebreakers.

“In these types of cases, sharing of information may give a foreign entity a tactical, military or competitive advantage by knowing the specifications of vessels responsible for defending Canadian waters and Canadian sovereignty,” RCMP Chief Superintendent Jennifer Strachan said.

The RCMP said that after it was informed of Huang’s actions, it initiated a criminal investigation dubbed Project Seascape.

In a statement released the day of the arrest, Irving Shipbuilding President Kevin McCoy said Huang didn’t have direct access to any classified or controlled information relating to vessels built as part of the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship project.

“Security of information surrounding the AOPS project, and all NSPS programs is tightly controlled at Irving Shipbuilding,” McCoy said. “We adhere to all security protocols required by our customers.”

Huang, who has been suspended without pay, was one of 20 marine engineers at Lloyd’s Register’s Burlington, Ontario location since April 2006. His was a structural design appraisal engineer tasked with assessing ship designs for compliance with industry standards.