Liquefied gas carrier

Abstract

To provide a liquefied gas carrier with higher safety provided with an aerial gas fuel device in addition to a propulsion engine.SOLUTION: A liquefied gas carrier includes: a hull containing an engine room; a propulsion engine positioned in the engine room for propelling the hull; a cargo tank positioned in a cargo area of the hull for storing liquefied gas which is a transportation object; a vaporized gas fuel device having vaporized gas which is vaporized liquefied gas as fuel; and an independent compartment chamber which is an independent compartment from the engine room for storing the vaporized gas fuel device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a liquefied gas carrier.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 below discloses a liquefied gas carrier for transporting liquefied gas.

Prior Art Document

Patent Document

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] A liquefied gas carrier may be provided with a vapor gas fuel device that uses, as fuel, vapor gas generated by vaporization of liquefied gas, in addition to a propulsion engine. Naturally, the safety of the vapor gas fuel device is sufficiently ensured. However, the inventors have examined the location of the vapor gas fuel device with the aim of further enhancing safety.

[0005] The present disclosure is a liquefied gas carrier provided with a vapor gas fuel device separately from a propulsion engine, and aims to provide a liquefied gas carrier with higher safety.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A liquefied gas carrier according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a hull including an engine room, a propulsion engine located in the engine room for propelling the hull, a cargo tank located in a cargo area of the hull for storing liquefied gas to be transported, a vapor gas fuel device that uses, as fuel, vapor gas generated by vaporization of the liquefied gas, and an independent compartment that is independent from the engine room and houses the vapor gas fuel device.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the above configuration, a liquefied gas carrier equipped with a vaporized gas fuel device separately from the propulsion engine can provide a liquefied gas carrier with higher safety.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Embodiments for Carrying out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described. Figure 1 is a side view of the liquefied gas carrier 100. The liquefied gas carrier 100 is a ship that transports liquefied gas. The liquefied gas carrier 100 according to the present embodiment uses a part of the liquefied gas to be transported as fuel. Also, in the present embodiment, the liquefied gas transported by the liquefied gas carrier 100 is liquefied hydrogen. However, the liquefied gas is not limited to liquefied hydrogen and may be, for example, liquefied natural gas or the like.

[0010] As shown in Figure 1, the liquefied gas carrier 100 includes a hull 10, a propulsion engine 20, a cargo tank 30, a vaporized gas fuel device 40, and an independent accommodation 50. Hereinafter, these components will be described in order.

[0011] <Hull> The hull 10 mounts various devices and facilities. The hull 10 is divided into a cargo area 11 for storing the liquefied gas to be transported, a bow area 12 located forward of the cargo area 11, and a stern area 13 located rearward of the cargo area 11. Figure 2 is an enlarged side view near the stern area 13.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 2, in the stern area 13 of the hull 10, in addition to the independent accommodation room 50, a cargo equipment room 14 and a living area 15 are provided. Among these, the cargo equipment room 14 is located above the exposed deck 16 at a certain distance in the vertical direction from the exposed deck 16. The liquefied gas stored in the cargo tank 30 and the boil-off gas obtained by natural vaporization of the liquefied gas in the cargo tank 30 are supplied to the cargo equipment room 14.

[0013] The cargo equipment room 14 houses a vaporizer, a compressor, a heater, etc. (not shown in the figure). The vaporizer is a device that forcibly vaporizes liquefied gas to obtain vaporized gas. The compressor is a device that boosts the pressure of the vaporized gas obtained by the vaporizer and the boil-off gas supplied from the cargo tank 30 (hereinafter, these are simply referred to as "vaporized gas" together). The heater is a device that heats the vaporized gas whose pressure has been boosted by the compressor.

[0014] On the other hand, the living area 15 is a section including rooms where crew members work. The living area 15 is located in front of the cargo equipment room 14. As described above, the cargo equipment room 14 and the living area 15 of the present embodiment are located in the stern area 13. However, the cargo equipment room 14 and the living area 15 may be located in areas other than the stern area 13. For example, the cargo equipment room 14 may be located in the cargo area 11, and the living area 15 may be located in the bow area 12.

[0015] Furthermore, the hull 10 includes an engine room 17. The engine room 17 of the present embodiment is located in the stern area 13 of the hull 10. Here, FIG. 3 is a rear view of the liquefied gas carrier 100. The portion surrounded by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 3 corresponds to the engine room 17. As shown in FIG. 3, the engine room 17 includes an upper engine room 18 located above the exposed deck 16 and a lower engine room 19 located below the exposed deck 16. These upper engine room 18 and lower engine room 19 communicate with each other to form one space.

[0016] <Propulsion engine> The propulsion engine 20 is a device for propelling the hull 10. As shown in Fig. 2, the propulsion engine 20 is located in the engine room 17 of the hull 10. The propulsion engine 20 of the present embodiment includes a boiler 21 and a steam turbine 22, and uses vaporized gas as fuel. Vaporized gas is supplied to the boiler 21 from the cargo equipment room 14. The boiler 21 burns the supplied vaporized gas and generates steam with the thermal energy obtained thereby. The steam turbine 22 is rotationally driven by the steam generated in the boiler 21. The steam turbine 22 is connected to the propeller 24 via the propeller shaft 23, and the propeller 24 rotates when the steam turbine 22 is rotationally driven. Thereby, thrust is generated and the hull 10 can be propelled.

[0017] As described above, the propulsion engine 20 of the present embodiment includes the boiler 21 and the steam turbine 22. However, the propulsion engine 20 is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the propulsion engine 20 may be a gas engine that burns vaporized gas in a cylinder to drive a piston. Further, the propulsion engine 20 may be a diesel engine that uses heavy oil or the like as fuel. When the propulsion engine 20 is a diesel engine, vaporized gas is not supplied from the cargo equipment room 14 to the propulsion engine 20.

[0018] In addition, various devices other than the propulsion engine 20 are located in the engine room 17. For example, as shown in Fig. 2, utility facilities 25 are located in the engine room 17. The utility facilities 25 are facilities for assisting the operation of the propulsion engine 20 and the vaporized gas fuel device 40. The utility facilities 25 include, for example, a cooling water pump for supplying cooling water to the propulsion engine 20 and the like, a lubricating oil pump for supplying lubricating oil to the propulsion engine 20 and the like, a compressor for supplying control air to the propulsion engine 20 and the like, a switchboard for supplying electric power to the propulsion engine 20 and the like, a fuel oil pump for supplying fuel oil to the propulsion engine 20 and the like, and a chimney for discharging exhaust gas discharged from the propulsion engine 20 and the like to the outside. Utilities such as cooling water, lubricating oil, control air, electric power, and fuel oil are supplied from the utility facilities 25 to the propulsion engine 20.

[0019] <Cargo Tank> The cargo tank 30 is a tank for storing liquefied gas to be transported. As shown in FIG. 1, the cargo tank 30 is located in the cargo area 11 of the hull 10. The liquefied gas carrier 100 according to the present embodiment includes four cargo tanks 30, and each cargo tank 30 is spherical. However, the number and shape of the cargo tanks 30 provided in the liquefied gas carrier 100 are not limited.

[0020] As described above, while the liquefied gas carrier 100 is transporting liquefied gas, due to natural heat ingress into the cargo tank 30, etc., a part of the liquefied gas vaporizes in the cargo tank 30 to generate boil-off gas. When the amount of boil-off gas generated increases, the pressure in the cargo tank 30 rises excessively, so it is necessary to discharge the boil-off gas from the cargo tank 30. If power or electricity can be generated by a device that uses the discharged boil-off gas as fuel, it can be used for the propulsion of the liquefied gas carrier 100 and the ship's internal power.

[0021] <Vaporized Gas Fuel Device> The vaporized gas fuel device 40 is a device that uses vaporized gas as fuel. The vaporized gas fuel device 40 of the present embodiment is a dual-fuel engine and can use both vaporized gas, which is a gas fuel, and fuel oil such as heavy oil as fuel. However, the vaporized gas fuel device 40 is not limited to a dual-fuel engine. For example, it may be a dual-fuel boiler that uses both vaporized gas and fuel oil as fuel, a gas engine that uses only vaporized gas as fuel, or a fuel cell that uses vaporized gas as fuel.

[0022] The vaporized gas fuel device 40 of this embodiment is connected to the generator 41. The generator 41 is driven by the vaporized gas fuel device 40 to generate electric power. The generated electric power is used for the operation of the liquefied gas carrier 100. Note that, similar to the propulsion engine 20, the vaporized gas fuel device 40 is supplied with vaporized gas from the cargo equipment room 14, and is also supplied with utilities such as cooling water, lubricating oil, control air, electric power, and fuel oil from the utility facility 25. In this embodiment, at least a part of the utility facility 25 that assists the operation of the vaporized gas fuel device 40 is common with the utility facility 25 that assists the operation of the propulsion engine 20.

[0023] <Independent Compartment Studio> The independent compartment studio 50 is a room that forms a compartment independent from the engine room 17. That is, the gas in the independent compartment studio 50 does not flow into the engine room 17, and the gas in the engine room 17 does not flow into the independent compartment studio 50. Further, the independent compartment studio 50 houses the vaporized gas fuel device 40. That is, the vaporized gas fuel device 40 and the engine room 17 are located in separate independent areas. Since the propulsion engine 20 that handles fuel is located in the engine room 17, sufficient safety measures are taken. Moreover, in this embodiment, even if vaporized gas leaks from the vaporized gas fuel device 40, the leaked vaporized gas does not flow into the engine room 17. Therefore, the liquefied gas carrier 100 according to this embodiment can suppress the risk caused by the leakage of vaporized gas and is even safer. Also, by partitioning the space where the vaporized gas fuel device 40 is located with the independent compartment studio 50, it is easy to design the ventilation system and the like of the space.

[0024] Note that the position of the independent compartment studio 50 is not limited. However, as shown in FIG. 3, the independent compartment studio 50 of this embodiment is located on the exposed deck 16 of the hull 10. Therefore, it is easy to access the vaporized gas fuel device 40 (see FIG. 2) in the independent compartment studio 50 from the outside, and the replacement and maintenance of the vaporized gas fuel device 40 can be easily performed.

[0025] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the independent machinery control room 50 of the present embodiment is adjacent to the machinery room 17 via the exposed deck 16 corresponding to the ceiling surface of the lower machinery room 19 and the side wall 51 corresponding to the side surface of the upper machinery room 18. In this way, since the independent machinery control room 50 is adjacent to the machinery room 17, the distance from the independent machinery control room 50 to the facilities located in the machinery room 17, such as the utility facilities 25, becomes shorter. As a result, the structure of the liquefied gas carrier 100 can be simplified, for example, the piping and wiring connecting the utility facilities 25 and the vaporized gas fuel device 40 can be shortened, and thus the manufacturing cost of the liquefied gas carrier 100 can be suppressed.

[0026] Also, the independent machinery control room 50 is located in the stern area 13 together with the machinery room 17. In this way, if the independent machinery control room 50 and the machinery room 17 are located in the same area, the distance from the independent machinery control room 50 to the facilities located in the machinery room 17 becomes shorter as described above, so that the structure of the liquefied gas carrier 100 can be simplified and the manufacturing cost of the liquefied gas carrier 100 can be suppressed. Furthermore, since the machinery room 17 is located in the stern area 13, the distance from the propulsion engine 20 in the machinery room 17 to the propeller 24 becomes shorter. As a result, the structure of the liquefied gas carrier 100 can be further simplified, for example, by shortening the propeller shaft 23, and the manufacturing cost of the liquefied gas carrier 100 can be further suppressed.

[0027] (Summary) The first item disclosed in this specification is a liquefied gas carrier including a hull including a machinery room, a propulsion engine located in the machinery room for propelling the hull, a cargo tank located in the cargo area of the hull for storing liquefied gas to be transported, a vaporized gas fuel device using the vaporized gas obtained by vaporizing the liquefied gas as fuel, and an independent machinery control room which is a compartment independent from the machinery room and houses the vaporized gas fuel device.

[0028] According to this configuration, the risk caused by the leakage of vaporized gas can be suppressed, and the safety can be further improved.

[0029] The second item disclosed in this specification is the liquefied gas carrier according to the first item, wherein the independent control room is adjacent to the engine room.

[0030] According to this configuration, the structure can be simplified, and thus the manufacturing cost of the liquefied gas carrier can be suppressed.

[0031] The third item disclosed in this specification is the liquefied gas carrier according to the first or second item, wherein the independent control room is located on the exposed deck of the hull.

[0032] According to this configuration, the replacement and maintenance of the vapor gas fuel device can be easily performed.

[0033] The fourth item disclosed in this specification is the liquefied gas carrier according to any one of the first to third items, wherein the independent control room and the engine room are located in the stern area behind the cargo area of the hull.

[0034] According to this configuration, the structure can be further simplified, and the manufacturing cost of the liquefied gas carrier can be further suppressed.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0035] 10 Hull 11 Cargo Area 12 Bow Area 13 Stern Area 14 Cargo Equipment Room 16 Exposed Deck 17 Engine Room 20 Propulsion Engine 30 Cargo Tank 40 Vapor Gas Fuel Device 50 Independent Control Room 100 Liquefied Gas Carrier

Claims

1. A hull including an engine room, A propulsion engine located in the engine room for propelling the hull, A cargo tank located in the cargo area of the hull for storing liquefied gas to be transported, A vaporized gas fuel device using the vaporized gas obtained by vaporizing the liquefied gas as fuel, A liquefied gas carrier, comprising an independent compartment separated from the engine room and housing the vaporized gas fuel device.

2. The liquefied gas carrier according to claim 1, wherein the independent compartment is adjacent to the engine room.

3. The liquefied gas carrier according to claim 1, wherein the independent compartment is located on the exposed deck of the hull.

4. The liquefied gas carrier according to claim 1, wherein the independent compartment and the engine room are located in a stern area located behind the cargo area of the hull.

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