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Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU) and IHI Corporation (IHI) have agreed to jointly develop an LNG fuel tank and supply system for LNG-fuelled container vessels being built for UAE-headquartered United Arab Shipping Company (UASC).

The LNG fuel tanks are to be installed on five 14,000 TEU vessels and five 18,000 TEU vessels.

The self-supporting Prismatic-shape IMO type-B LNG tank system (IHI-SPB Tank), developed and owned by JMU and IHI, has been selected as the LNG fuel tank to be used by UASC. JMU is due to perform engineering for the tank whilst IHI will study its constructability.

The Approval in Principle (AIP) for the IHI-SPB Tank and Fuel Gas Supply System (FGSS) is due to be obtained from UASC’s designated classification society, DNV-GL.

"The retrofit of the IHI-SPB Tank and FGSS will be performed once the infrastructure is in place, to enable LNG supplies in major ports of call for these container vessels, however, these vessels will be designed to be constructed in such a way that the IHI-SPB Tank and the FGSS can be installed with minimum work. These are the first large Asia-Europe trade container vessels in the world to plan LNG fuel," IHI said in a statement.

The IHI-SPB Tank was originally developed as the cargo containment system for large-scale carriers and/or floating LNG production facilities. However, it is said to also be efficient as an LNG fuel tank as it can be designed in any shape and capacity to fit the hull form and hold space as required. As a result, the number of LNG fuel tanks and respective equipment can be minimize in order to reduce cargo loss, capital investment and operational costs.