RINA granted Danish LNG fuel authority

RINA, the international classification society, has said that it has been granted authority by the Danish Maritime Authority to act on its behalf to supervise approval and surveillance during construction onboard LNG fuelled ships. The authorisation is only valid for ships flying the Danish flag.

LNG conversions

Commenting on the award, Andre Cogliolo, head of innovation, RINA Services, said: “This authorisation recognises RINA’s expertise with gas and will allow us to assist owners in Denmark who are actively considering conversions to and newbuildings with LNG fuel. We believe there will be a rapid and accelerating switch to LNG as a fuel in north European waters, but the move to gas must be done safely and with good management of all the risks involved. That is where we can make a real difference, by helping owners and yards to adopt new fuel solutions in a safe and timely manner.”

RINA has rules and requirements for the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas (CNG) as marine fuel. These rules provide a regulatory tool to ensure that the arrangement and installation onboard of machinery using LNG or CNG are such as to provide a level of integrity, from the point of view of safety and reliability, equivalent to that of a conventional installation.

Move to gas

Cogliolo added that until the new IMO Code for Gas Fuelled Ships is complete, owners and yards must work to class requirements. “We are helping owners move to gas, and we are making sure they avoid the pitfalls as well gaining the benefits.”

RINA is currently involved in a number of projects to convert existing ships or build new vessels to be fuelled with LNG and CNG. It is also facilitating studies for the diffusion of LNG as a fuel in the Mediterranean area.

Edited from various sources by Katie Woodward

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