[QUOTE=c.captain;102478]so here’s my question. How is LNG kept aboard a ship or towboat or tractor rig so that it is relatively safe to carry? I mean cryogenic flammable liquids are quite explosive and tends to go boom in a big way in an accident![/QUOTE]
Yes sir that is a very good question. From what I am hearing most of the engines are basically duel fuel, having to be started on diesel then switched over to LNG part of the time. A good friend of mine is a technican at Cummins, he is going to be doing some of the install and testing on the new LNG boats Harvey Gulf is building. As I get info from him I will post it to let you know how it is working out. The truck’s that I have read about basically use a double hull fuel tank with insulation between the inner and outer tanks to try to keep the temperature stable and to help prevent something puncturing the inner LNG tank. They also have to have a small diesel tank to start the engine, then switch over to LNG. The trucks using it that I have read about only have a small LNG tank and are very limited on range. Mostly like garbage trucks or buses, and some intermodal trucks that never get far from there home base. I don’t think the infastructure is available yet for over the road use. Maybe in the not so distant future as fueling stations become more common.
I will be real interested to see how the Harvey Gulf boats are set up to store and handle the LNG. Kind of makes me wonder what the coast guard or ABS will have to say about it. There has to be a huge safety factor involved in just storing the amount needed to fuel a large OSV for any lenght of time. LIke z-drive says I wonder if that will be a seperate endorsment on our license soon?