Why safety must come first for LNG
This week, more than most, many of us will have the safety and wellbeing of friends and loved ones uppermost in our thoughts. Events across the world this autumn – from natural disasters to the spate of terrorist attacks in Europe and the Middle East – hit home how precious, how fragile life is.
Sadly, safety and wellbeing are under the spotlight this week for LNG shipping too. Recent days have brought news of two deaths linked to the gas-shipping industry – one at a shipyard in South Korea, the other at Sabine Pass LNG-export terminal in the US.
In the most recent incident, a worker died when a fire broke out in the cargo tank of a very large gas carrier (VLGC) under construction at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in Okpo. Up to 130 workers were inside the cargo tank when the fire broke out and seven were injured.
That incident followed the death at Sabine Pass LNG of a man working for a contractor. Cheniere has yet to disclose what happened at the terminal, which is due to start exports in January, becoming the first US mainland port to ship LNG overseas.
So far, so unfortunate – but so what, you may ask. The troubling thing about these two incidents is that both were the second such casualties at the sites in question within a very short time frame. A second worker died at Sabine Pass in mid-October after falling from scaffolding. And in August, two DSME workers died when fire broke out at Okpo, again during welding works, this time in the tank of an LNG carrier.
Meanwhile, in a third incident this autumn, the 210,000mᶟ Q-Max LNG carrier Al Oraiq escaped with minor damage after a collision seven miles off Zeebrugge that sank the 122,000 dwt general cargoship Flinterstar. Al Oraiq was delivering LNG from Ras Laffan in Qatar to Zeebrugge’sFluxys terminal.
Although it was damaged, the Q-Max spilled no cargo. And in fact, the LNG supply chain can boast an enviable track record when it comes to safety.
The last report-worthy LNG-linked incident occurred in May 2014, with a 130kg spillage during truck-to-ship bunkering of LNG on Fjord Lines’ passenger ferry Bergensfjord at Risavika in Norway. No one was hurt and the investigation concluded that neither passengers nor crew were put at risk.
And yet.And yet. We live in a fast-moving, turbulent world. If time is money – war, natural disasters and terrorism aside – the risk to LNG shipping can only grow, as the fleet edges towards a landmark 500 vessels, as more countries join the LNG-importers’ club and as growth in demand for gas as marine fuel extends the LNG-supply chain.
The more LNG is handled – the more prevalent it becomes as busy commercial ports install specialist bunkering services – the greater the risk that something goes wrong.
It takes just one major casualty to scupper the prospects for LNG shipping to grow and prosper. Every death is a death too many. Upholding safety standards and avoiding risk requires everyone in our industry to invest in training and safety and to step up vigilance and care.
https://www.lngworldshipping.com/news/view,why-safety-must-come-first-for-lng_40945.htm
