Caption: Drawing of Kawasaki’s LNG fueled 9000 TEU container ship.

JAPAN's Kawasaki Heavy Industries, which completed the development of a 9,000 TEU ship fuelled by LNG, has obtained "approval in principle" from the Norwegian classification society, Det Norske Veritas (DNV).

The ship is designed with a new type of LNG tank that provides more space for cargo, reports the ShipbuildingTribune.com.

The LNG fuel tank and diesel oil tanks are located under the forward superstructure minimising the loss of cargo space. IMO (BLG) is currently studying the design criteria for ships using LNG as fuel. The location of LNG tanks under the accommodation has been a subject for discussion in the industry.

"It is important to understand the environmental imperatives that shipowners face, but it is also important to recognise that, in reality, the uptake of new technologies is a balance between risk and business need," said DNV chief operations officer Tor Svensen.

The LNG is stored in prismatic low pressure insulated tanks (Type B) and this is the first time that such tanks have been proposed for a large containership, said the report, adding that they are different from cylindrical pressure tanks (Type C) as they use available space much better due to their shape. KHI has also adopted a unique technology, the Kawasaki Panel System, for heat insulation in order to reduce the rate of evaporation of LNG.

Cutaway drawing showing the Type B rectangular LNG tank, located midships below the bridge and accommodation superstructure.