Classification Society ClassNK has issued an Approval in Principle (AiP) for a large liquefied hydrogen carrier developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) of Japan.
Hydrogen is expected to be used as a clean energy source to realise a decarbonised society as its burning does not emit CO2. To contribute to the maritime transportation of hydrogen and usage for marine fuel, which is anticipated to expand its use worldwide, ClassNK has worked on the establishment of the necessary standards and certification.
In addition to class registration of the world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier, the 1250m3 capacity Suiso Frontier built by KHI in line with its rules and guidelines, ClassNK has issued an AiP for the design of the Cargo Containment System (CCS) with a capacity of 40,000m3 class per tank developed by KHI in 2021 for use on a large liquefied hydrogen carrier. Further to this AiP for the CCS, ClassNK has issued AiPs for the Cargo Handling Systems (CHS), which are key design elements of the vessel, and dual-fuel main boilers that use hydrogen boil-off gas as fuel.
ClassNK also examined the integrated design of a 160,000m3 large liquefied hydrogen carrier equipped with four of the above-mentioned CCS and issued an AiP to confirm its feasibility as a ship. Based on those three AiPs for CCS, CHS and dual-fuel main boilers issued already and the verification of the ship arrangement, hull structure/ stability, power generation/ distribution system, and the comprehensive hydrogen fire protection and extinction philosophy, it is confirmed that large-scale hydrogen transportation with this design is possible to realise.
In the examination, ClassNK carried out a design review of the liquefied hydrogen carrier based on its Part N of Rules for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships incorporating the IGC Code, and its Guidelines for Liquefied Hydrogen Carriers incorporating the IMO’s interim recommendations for Carriage of Liquefied Hydrogen in Bulk. In addition, a comprehensive safety assessment was conducted based on the Hazid risk assessment results, which led to the issue of the AiP.
