i LNG OPERATIONS IN PORT AREAS Recommendations for the Management of Operational Risk Attaching to Lique? ed Gas Tanker and Terminal Operations in Port Areas First Edition WSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd iWSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd i1/23/2009 2:49:16 PM1/23/2009 2:49:16 PM ii Issued by the © The Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators Ltd First Edition 2003 ISBN 13: 978 1 85609 256 2 ISBN 10: 1 85609 256 9 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. SIGTTO The Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators is a non-pro? t making organisation dedicated to protect and promote the mutual interests of its members in matters related to the safe and reliable operation of gas tankers and terminals within a sound environment. The Society was founded in 1979 and was granted consultative status at IMO in November 1983. The Society has over 100 companies in membership who own or operate over 95% of the world’s LNG tankers and terminals and over 55% of the world’s LPG tankers and terminals. Notice of Terms of Use While the advice given in this document (“document”) has been developed using the best information currently available, it is intended purely as guidance to be used at the user’s own risk. No responsibility is accepted by the Society of International Gas Tanker & Terminal Operators Ltd. (SIGTTO), the membership of SIGTTO, or by any person, ? rm corporation or organisation [who or which has been in any way concerned with the furnishing of information or data the compilation or any translation, publishing, supply or sale of the document] for the accuracy of any information or advice given in the document or any omission from the document or for any consequence whatsoever resulting directly or indirectly from compliance with or adoption of guidance contained in the document even if caused by a failure to exercise reasonable care. Printed and bound in Great Britain by Bell & Bain Ltd. Glasgow Published in 2009 by Witherby Seamanship International Ltd. 4 Dunlop Square Deans Estate, Livingston Edinburgh, EH54 8SB Scotland, UK Tel No: +44(0)1506 463 227 Fax No: +44(0)1506 468 999 Email: info@emailws.com www.witherbyseamanship.com WSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd iiWSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd ii1/23/2009 2:49:16 PM1/23/2009 2:49:16 PM iii re-assessment, together with concomitant adjustments to the operational procedures devised to suppress them. Operators therefore have a need for both a systematic assessment of operating risk and a range of risk reduction measures that can be tailored to be effective in specific situations. The guidance offered in this document aims to satisfy both needs. Nevertheless change in operational risk profiles may not always be manageable solely by gas businesses adjusting their operating procedures. In many situations the co-operation of port administrations and service providers will be required to achieve the required degree of safety. This will be especially true of risks arising from the movement of gas tankers in port areas and from other activities conducted in the vicinity of gas tankers and terminals, including the movement of other ships. This document therefore addresses also the issue of relations with the providers of port services, other port users and the wider social community of the port. Gas tanker and terminal operations carry a range of operational risks arising from transport, storage and transfer of liquefied natural gas and petroleum gases. These risks are unique to liquefied gas operations and require specific measures to manage them within tolerable limits. Many gas terminals are situated within the environs of established ports. Hence their operations and those of the gas tankers serving them, necessarily share a common operational environment with other port users. Such situations have existed for many years. Consequently industry members have acquired valuable experience in conducting gas operations in port environments that also host numerous other port users and other industrial activities. This document draws on this collective experience in setting out guidance to best practice for managing gas shipping operations within ports. It also illuminates the profile of risks attaching to gas operations, for the information of those who administer ports and provide essential services in port areas. The document draws heavily on SIGTTO’s Information Paper 14 (Site Selection and Design for LNG Ports and Jetties), first published in 1997. Information Paper 14 expounds a doctrine of protective location for gas terminals, arguing for the elimination of major risk elements by locating gas operations in places where they will not be exposed to uncontrolled threats from outside their own operating environments. Under this doctrine operational risks are removed from the operational milieu of gas shipping (by informed selection of locations). Such risks as then remain are assessed and afterwards addressed by the implementation of procedures derived specifically from the risk assessment. Hence gas shipping operations are to be managed within tolerable limits - i.e. residual risk exposures are reduced to manageable proportions. The guidance offered in this document recognises also the dynamic nature of operating environments and the fact that risk profiles change over time. Hence residual risk exposures may also change and therefore require INTRODUCTION WSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd iiiWSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd iii1/23/2009 2:49:19 PM1/23/2009 2:49:19 PM iv WSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd ivWSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd iv1/23/2009 2:49:19 PM1/23/2009 2:49:19 PM v Page INTRODUCTION iii 1. Hazards of LNG Operations 1.1 Safety Critical Properties of LNG .................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Containment Systems for LNG ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Resistance of Gas Tankers to Collision and Grounding Impacts .................................................................... 2 1.4 Characteristics of Gas Releases to the Atmosphere ...................................................................................... 2 1.5 Consequences of Ingress from the Sea .......................................................................................................... 3 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................... 4 2. Risk Assessment 2.1 QRA Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Special Areas for Performing a QRA of LNG Port Operations ...................................................................... 6 2.3 Summary of General Considerations .............................................................................................................. 8 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................... 9 3. Managing Tanker Transits 3.1 Anchorages ..................................................................................................................................................... 11 3.2 Approach Channels ........................................................................................................................................ 12 3.3 Turning Basins ................................................................................................................................................. 12 3.4 Operational Management of Tanker Transits .................................................................................................. 13 3.5 Special Defensive Procedures ........................................................................................................................ 15 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................... 16 4. Terminal Site Selection 4.1 Elementary Criteria ........................................................................................................................................ 17 4.2 Terminal Operations (Basis of Design) ........................................................................................................... 17 4.3 Port Operations (Manoeuvres) ........................................................................................................................ 18 4.4 External Threats (Protective Location) ............................................................................................................ 19 4.5 Port Development ........................................................................................................................................... 22 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................... 22 5. Managing Gas Transfer Operations 5.1 The Elements of Interface Security ................................................................................................................. 23 5.2 Effective Mooring ............................................................................................................................................. 24 5.3 Cargo Transfer Systems (Emergency Shut Down – ESD) ............................................................................... 24 5.4 Jetty Operations and Control ......................................................................................................................... 25 5.5 Protection from External Threats ..................................................................................................................... 28 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................... 29 6. Managing Relations with Port Authorities and Other Stakeholders 6.1 Contingency Planning ................................................................................................................................... 31 6.2 Local Partnerships ........................................................................................................................................... 32 6.3 APELL ............................................................................................................................................................ 33 6.4 Managing the LNG Risk – “Successful” to “Significant” ................................................................................. 34 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................... 34 CONTENTS WSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd vWSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd v1/23/2009 2:49:19 PM1/23/2009 2:49:19 PM 13 SECTION 3 3.4.2 Ship Inspections Prior to Arrival in Port Pre-arrival inspections are a common feature of bulk oil trading, but not at all common in LNG shipping, where tankers generally have been dedicated to regular trading between a small number of ports. Consequently ports are familiar with the ships and, perhaps more importantly, the ships’ crews are familiar with the ports. However, increasingly LNG tankers are being assigned to less structured trade patterns and crew familiarity with ports and ports’ familiarity with ships is set to dilute. Crews used to working in a particular way in one project might overlook specific requirements of another, and different established customs too, may give rise to misunderstandings. Hence transferring a tanker from a dedicated trade pattern to an unfamiliar port might compromise the effectiveness of established safety procedures at that port. Pre-arrival inspections should form part of a process by which terminal managers and port authorities assure themselves that a tanker, new to the port, is familiar with the critical risk management procedures established for its operations, and that its crew are cognisant of their responsibilities and competent to discharge them. Note: Proliferation of vetting inspections in the oil trades has given rise to excessive demands on ships staff in port. The industry seeks to minimise this burden by sharing inspection data through the OCIMF’s SIRE system. Shipowners and all parties involved in LNG carrier inspections are urged to take advantage of having reports posted on this system to help prevent a proliferation of repetitive inspections. 3.4.3 Passage Planning In well managed ships, irrespective of type, it is accepted best practice to actively plan sea passages berth to berth. Active planning of port transits serves to highlight special dangers, such as shallows and obstructions, and critical control parameters such as approach speeds and critical manoeuvres. The process thus provides for the ship’s bridge team a clear picture of what lies ahead of them, how the port transit is to be accomplished and what is required of each of them, in ensuring the plan is executed in a controlled manner. Active planning is calculated to provide continuous monitoring of a ship’s track, early warning of deviation from plan, rapid and effective response to deviations from track and the approach of dangers - e.g. collision risk. Expected speeds also should be marked for each part of the transit. No tanker should be committed to successive stages of the transit unless speed and position in the channel conform to plan and, if meeting tugs, their number and readiness has been confirmed. The paramount concern, in determining what shall be an acceptable geometry of an approach channel for a transiting LNG tanker, must always be to eliminate the possibility of its suffering a high-energy impact at any point during the transit. Hence the chances of its sustaining contact with the bottom or sides of the channel should be suppressed by the application of sound design, coherent with the ships’ characteristics and control features. More important is elimination of threats posed by rock outcrops and other obstructions that pose a risk of penetration of a tankers’ hull. For further, more detailed expositions of the criteria for establishing safe approach channels see the bibliography for this section. 3.4 Operational Management of Tanker Transits Having established an inherently non-threatening operating environment for LNG tankers it is also necessary to establish a framework of procedures, derived precisely for application in the specific circumstances of a particular port. The following sections illustrate a number of possible elements in such a framework. Some will not be appropriate, or necessary, in the actual circumstances of some ports, while others will be applicable to all classes of ships irrespective of their cargoes. However, established practice and procedures notwithstanding, a distinct framework of operational management for LNG ships must be expressly and deliberately constructed to address the assessed (residual) risks in specific port environments. 3.4.1 Quality Verification Processes All operational procedures and processes rest on certain assumptions, expressed or implied, of quality, in the human participants involved. Sound risk assessment studies will discount the risks of remotely credible failure events, in even the highest quality participants. But the frequency of such failure events is virtually certain to increase if the assumed quality in participants is not assured. Operational management procedures therefore must include quality assurance procedures for both the tankers and the port services, employed to support their transits to and from sea. WSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd 13WSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd 131/23/2009 2:49:22 PM1/23/2009 2:49:22 PM 14 SECTION 3 3.4.6 The Competence of Pilots For large ships the services of a licensed pilot are mandatory for the conduct of port transits in virtually every port in the world, unless granted an exemption certificate. Professional standards and experience profiles among pilots vary considerably from port to port, yet it is essential they all be familiar with handling characteristics of the ships they serve. LNG tankers are rare in the world’s merchant fleets and it is unlikely, when operations are first introduced in a port, that its pilots will have had experience of them. This is especially important in the case of LNG tankers since nearly all are still steam turbine driven while the bulk of the world’s merchant fleet is powered by diesel engines. Steam turbine propulsion has markedly slower response times than those of the diesel engines common in all other classes of ship. Before committing their ships to the port transit masters must brief pilots on the handling characteristics of their ships, discuss the proposed passage plan from the pilot station to the berth and assure themselves that the plan is coherent with their ships’ capabilities. Before LNG operations begin at a port with no previous history of the trade, it is prudent for simulator training to be provided for pilots and, perhaps, tug masters. Such training would aim to ensure all involved parties are thoroughly au fait with the proposed operation and are practised in handling emergency procedures and deviations from the plan. It may be preferable to designate a specialist team of pilots for LNG operations but even then, periodic refresher training is recommended to assure their continued competence. 3.4.7 Limiting Conditions for Operations Virtually all ports in the world establish limiting criteria for operations when they experience severe weather or bad visibility. The limits applied to LNG operations should also contemplate the high wind areas associated with such ships and the characteristics of their propulsion plant. Operators should also recognise the wind speed limits applied to operation of loading and discharging arms. These will generally be set lower than wind speed thresholds normally applied to restrict vessel movements in a port - hence it may sometimes be prudent to delay port operation until wind speeds are reduced to levels that admit cargo transfer. As a general principle there should be no impediment to conducting LNG operations at night - though the unique circumstances of particular ports may sometimes 3.4.4 Abort Procedures Formal planning of port transits should include contingency plans for aborting the transit and securing the safety of the tanker - e.g. by placing it in a temporary anchorage or returning to sea. It is essential that the port transits of LNG tankers be actively planned in the manner outlined above. Without this process there can be no assurance that the transit will be conducted under adequate control, nor can there be any assurance of the ship being able to respond effectively to unforeseen contingencies. Without a well prepared plan, a tanker’s safety will rest entirely with the one person directing helm and engine movements. A single error on his part may then go undetected and thus place a tanker in needless jeopardy. 3.4.5 Management of the Port Transit (Bridge Team Management) Having a plan is essential but it will be ineffective unless progress of the vessel is continuously monitored against the plan. This is the function of the bridge team who should ensure that the guidance given by the pilot is appropriate to the position and intended movements of the vessel, taking into account any dangers to navigation in the vicinity of the vessel and along its intended track. The aim of bridge team management is to create a proactive culture for managing the navigation, one in which the master and pilot are fed the information they require in advance of an intended manoeuvre and given adequate warning of developing situations that might undermine the integrity of the plan for the passage. Thus all officers on the bridge play active contributory roles in piloting the vessel, with the master in a supervisory or managerial role. A regime of disciplined bridge management is especially important when a pilot is on board. It ensures that his actions are effectively monitored and challenged where they appear to deviate from the passage plan or the expectations of the bridge team. Note: The principles of bridge team management training are set out in a number of industry publications, two of the most comprehensive being the ICS publication “Bridge Procedures Guide” and the Nautical Institute’s “Bridge Team Management”. Bridge team training is available in a number of establishments throughout the world, drawing on the experience of the aviation industry in fostering a team approach to bridge operations in port. WSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd 14WSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd 141/23/2009 2:49:22 PM1/23/2009 2:49:22 PM 15 SECTION 3 3.5.3 “Moving” Safety Zone It is sound practice to establish a cordon sanitaire or exclusion zone around a transiting gas tanker. In this way an area of sea space is established around the tanker into which no other traffic is permitted to enter. Hence the tanker’s progress will never be immediately hindered by encounters with other traffic, nor will it encounter traffic having the potential to penetrate its hull. The dimensions and shape of an exclusion zone should be determined in the context of the specific conditions of a port. In a port with a narrow access channel it is sound practice to prevent traffic entering the channel in the opposite direction while a gas carrier is in transit i.e. preventing an ‘end on’ encounter. In exceptionally long access channels it may be acceptable for traffic proceeding in the opposite direction to proceed so far and then stop in a ‘passing place’ but in all cases the transiting gas carrier must have priority. Where traffic is proceeding in the same direction as the tanker the zone may extend some 1 to 2 miles ahead of the gas carrier, a distance determined by the distance required to bring the following gas carrier safely to a stop. Traffic following the gas carrier should be excluded for a similar distance, allowing scope for the gas carrier to slow down to manoeuvre without it being impeded by the approach of following ships. In general no gas tanker should be overtaken in a channel, regardless of the width of the channel. In general, traffic should not cross closer than 1.5 miles ahead or 0.5 miles astern of a gas carrier. In some circumstances it may be prudent to deploy a patrol craft to escort a transiting gas tanker. This may be either a small craft that can patrol well ahead of the gas carrier advising other traffic to keep clear, or a tug that can enforce the zone by deliberately putting itself between an approaching vessel and the gas carrier. In some ports a tug, of sufficient power to assist a gas carrier to turn in the case of emergency, is preferred. A tug need not necessarily be an ‘escort tug’, capable of assisting the gas carrier at full transit speed, but one of sufficient power enabling it to alter it’s trajectory at low speeds. recommend such restrictions. Often there is less traffic movement at night and this could present a transiting tanker with a lower probability for encountering other ships. 3.5 Special Defensive Procedures By adopting the measures outlined in 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 the operational theatre will be cleared of potential threats and, with procedures in place to assure the quality of operating participants, the security of LNG tanker transits will be substantially established. Thereafter it is a matter for determination, in the context of particular ports, if additional measures are required. Such additional measures mostly comprise of direct intervention options, by which port authorities exert control over some or all facets of an LNG tanker’s progress through the port. 3.5.1 Vessel Traffic Systems/Vessel Traffic Information Schemes These schemes monitor traffic flows within a port and issue advice to transiting ships on the movements of other traffic in the area. They are shore based with Vessel Traffic System (VTS) operators observing traffic on radar and advising other traffic, by radio, of movements within the area. Recently developed Automatic Information Systems (AIS) may have a growing role in the future - providing the same service. For transiting gas tankers, who must avoid threatening encounters with other traffic, the advice flowing from such a service can be critical to their security in ports having dense and random traffic patterns. 3.5.2. Traffic Separation Schemes Traffic separation schemes (TSS) are often very effective in organising traffic in a port and in port approaches into an orderly and predictable flow. Properly conceived they will considerably reduce the risks of threatening encounters between transiting ships and will help ensure that these ships remain in safe navigable water. They can be especially effective in preventing the particularly dangerous ‘end on’ encounters and which can occur frequently in confined waters or areas of high-density traffic. A VTS in conjunction with a TSS is especially useful in controlling traffic in the vicinity of a transiting gas carrier. VTS operators can contact other traffic and the gas tanker, if a threatening event is perceived to be developing - e.g. a ship not complying with the rules of a TSS. In some ports, authorities have thought it prudent to suspend all other ship movements while a LNG tanker is transiting. WSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd 15WSIL 202 - LNG Operations in Port Areas.indd 151/23/2009 2:49:22 PM1/23/2009 2:49:22 PM