Proceedings magazine is a communication tool for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety & Security Council. Each quarterly magazine focuses on a specific theme of interest to the marine industry.
Issue link: https://uscgproceedings.epubxp.com/i/578020
52 Proceedings Fall 2015 www.uscg.mil/proceedings impressive (in fact, unprecedented) safety record for liquid hydrocarbon carriage by sea in bulk. Safety Record This exemplary safet y record results from a strong, overarching safety philosophy; robust equipment and systems design; good operational and maintenance proce- dures; operating in excess of the minimum requirements and according to best practice guidelines; and high training standards, coupled with competency verifcation. Other factors include the pioneers who developed design standards and operating procedures dur- ing the early days of liquefed gas shipping and who helped develop the International Gas Car- rier (IGC) Code, based on experiences in the early days of LNG transport, and our industry's ability to share lessons learned and develop universally accepted best practices. Technology Although LNG carriers have been involved in grounding incidents, in no case was a cargo con- tainment system breached. This achievement is a legacy of the extra safety margins the LNG ship- ping industry's founding fathers built into the original rules governing vessel design. Shippers frst transported liquefed natural gas (LNG) across the Atlantic in 1959. By 1964 the frst purpose-built LNG car- riers, the 27,400 m 3 Methane Princess and Methane Progress, were in service under a 15-year gas purchase agreement. In the 50-plus years since their frst commercial shipments, LNG carriers have safely delivered more than 80,000 car- goes. These consignments all reached their destination without cargo containment system breach and with no onboard fatalities attributable to the cargo. This is a very Safe Transport LNG shipping history. by Mr. AndrEW cliFton General Manager Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators Ltd. (SIGTTO) Liquefed Gas Production, Transportation, and Use The Methane Princess is the frst commercial LNG vessel; she entered service in 1964. Photos courtesy of the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators Ltd. (SIGTTO).