Liquefied gas transport vessel

Abstract

A liquefied gas transport vessel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: an engine room located in a stern area of a hull rear part; a residential area located in a bow area of a hull front part; cargo equipment located in a cargo area of a hull central part; a main switchboard located in the stern area; a cargo switchboard for distributing electricity received from the main switchboard to the cargo equipment; and a cargo switchboard room that houses the cargo switchboard and is independent of the engine room and the residential area.

Description

liquefied gas carrier

[0001] The present disclosure relates to liquefied gas carriers.

[0002] The following Patent Document 1 discloses a ship equipped with a collective starter panel that supplies electricity received from a main switchboard to pumps, electric motors, etc. The collective starter panel in Patent Document 1 is arranged on each deck provided in the engine room.

[0003] Utility Model Registration No. 3146264

[0004] A liquefied gas carrier carrying liquefied gas as cargo is equipped with a cargo switchboard that supplies electricity received from the main switchboard to cargo equipment. Considering that the collective starter panel of Patent Document 1 is located in the engine room and that the engine room is adequately equipped with fire prevention measures, there is no problem with locating the cargo switchboard in the engine room. However, there is a possibility that a fire may break out in the engine room due to an unexpected event. Even if a fire breaks out in the engine room, if the cargo switchboard can be used, secondary disasters can be prevented and safety can be improved. Furthermore, the location of the cargo switchboard affects the length of the power supply cable connecting the main switchboard to the cargo equipment. If the power supply cable becomes longer due to the location of the cargo switchboard, the manufacturing cost of the liquefied gas carrier increases.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a liquefied gas carrier that has improved safety and can reduce manufacturing costs.

[0006] A liquefied gas carrier according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises an engine room located in the stern area at the rear of the hull, accommodation areas located in the bow area at the front of the hull, cargo equipment located in the cargo area in the center of the hull, a main switchboard located in the stern area, a cargo switchboard that distributes electricity received from the main switchboard to the cargo equipment, and a cargo switchboard room that houses the cargo switchboard and is independent of the engine room and the accommodation areas.

[0007] This configuration makes it possible to provide a liquefied gas carrier that is safer and allows for reduced manufacturing costs.

[0008] Fig. 1 is a side view of a liquefied gas carrier, Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the stern area of ​​the liquefied gas carrier, and Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the electrical system of the liquefied gas carrier.

[0009] An embodiment will be described below. A liquefied gas carrier 100 according to this embodiment is a ship that transports liquefied gas such as liquefied hydrogen or liquefied natural gas. FIG. 1 is a side view of the liquefied gas carrier 100 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 1, the right side of the page is the traveling direction of the liquefied gas carrier 100. Hereinafter, the traveling direction of the liquefied gas carrier 100 is defined as the "forward" direction, and the direction opposite to the forward direction is defined as the "aft" direction.

[0010] As shown in Figure 1, the liquefied gas carrier 100 comprises an engine room 10, an accommodation space 20, cargo equipment 30, a main switchboard 40, a cargo switchboard 50, a cargo switchboard room 60, and an external access passage 70. These components will be described in order below.

[0011] <Engine Room> The engine room 10 is a room that houses the main engine 11. The main engine 11 in this embodiment burns boil-off gas generated in a cargo tank 95 (described later) or gas generated in an evaporator, and uses the heat of the combustion to generate steam to drive a steam turbine connected to the screw propeller 12. However, the main engine 11 may be an internal combustion engine that drives the screw propeller 12 using boil-off gas or the like generated in the cargo tank 95 as fuel, or may be an electric motor that drives the screw propeller 12 using electricity generated by a power generation engine that uses boil-off gas or the like generated in the cargo tank 95 as fuel. Furthermore, the main engine 11 may use fuel oil on board the liquefied gas carrier 100 as fuel, rather than boil-off gas or the like.

[0012] The engine room 10 is located in the stern area 91 at the rear of the hull 90. The stern area 91 is an area rearward of the cargo area 93. Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the stern area 91 of the liquefied gas carrier 100. As shown in Figure 2, the engine room 10 includes a lower engine room section 13 located below an exposed deck 94 of the hull 90, and an upper engine room section 14 located above the exposed deck 94. The upper engine room section 14 is connected to the rear portion of the lower engine room section 13, and the internal space of the upper engine room section 14 is connected to the internal space of the lower engine room section 13.

[0013] <Accommodation area> The accommodation area 20 is an area where the crew lives or works. As shown in FIG. 1 , the accommodation area 20 in this embodiment is located in a bow area 92 in the forward part of the hull 90. The bow area 92 is an area forward of the cargo area 93. The interior of the accommodation area 20 is designated as a non-hazardous area. A "non-hazardous area" refers to an area that does not contain an explosive gas atmosphere to the extent that special consideration is required for the structure, installation, and use of electrical equipment.

[0014] <Cargo Equipment> The cargo equipment 30 is equipment that handles liquefied gas as cargo. Although the configuration of the cargo equipment 30 is not limited, the cargo equipment 30 in this embodiment is located in a cargo area 93 in the center of the hull 90. The cargo area 93 is an area that stores liquefied gas as cargo. In this embodiment, cargo tanks 95 that store liquefied gas are located in the cargo area 93. In this embodiment, the cargo tanks 95 include a first tank 95A, a second tank 95B, a third tank 95C, and a fourth tank 95D, which are arranged in this order from the front.

[0015] 3 is a block diagram of the electrical system of the liquefied gas carrier 100. The cargo equipment 30 of this embodiment includes first cargo equipment 31 and second cargo equipment 32. Furthermore, the first cargo equipment 31 includes four first cargo pumps 33A to 33D and two spray pumps 35A and 35C. Furthermore, the second cargo equipment 32 includes four second cargo pumps 34A to 34D and two spray pumps 35B and 35D. However, the components of the first cargo equipment 31 and the second cargo equipment 32 are not limited to those described above; for example, the first cargo equipment 31 and the second cargo equipment 32 may each include only one component.

[0016] The first cargo pumps 33A to 33D and the second cargo pumps 34A to 34D are pumps that discharge the liquefied gas in each tank 95A to 95D. A first tank first cargo pump 33A and a first tank second cargo pump 34A are located in the first tank 95A, a second tank first cargo pump 33B and a second tank second cargo pump 34B are located in the second tank 95B, a third tank first cargo pump 33C and a third tank second cargo pump 34C are located in the third tank 95C, and a fourth tank first cargo pump 33D and a fourth tank second cargo pump 34D are located in the fourth tank 95D. In other words, each tank 95A to 95D has a first cargo pump 33A to 33D and a second cargo pump 34A to 34D that perform the same function.

[0017] The spray pumps 35A to 35D are pumps for injecting liquefied gas into each of the tanks 95A to 95D to cool the tanks 95A to 95D, etc. The cargo equipment 30 includes four spray pumps 35A to 35D, and the four spray pumps 35A to 35D are located in separate tanks 95A to 95D. In this embodiment, of the four spray pumps 35A to 35D, the first tank spray pump 35A located in the first tank 95A and the third tank spray pump 35C located in the third tank 95C are included in the first cargo equipment 31, and the remaining second tank spray pump 35B located in the second tank 95B and the fourth tank spray pump 35D located in the fourth tank 95D are included in the second cargo equipment 32.

[0018] <Main switchboard> The main switchboard 40 is a device that supplies electricity generated by the generator 96 to each piece of equipment. As shown in FIG. 3 , the main switchboard 40 of this embodiment supplies electricity received from the generator 96 to the cargo equipment 30 via the cargo switchboard 50. As shown in FIG. 2 , in this embodiment, the generator 96 and the main switchboard 40 are located in the stern area 91. More specifically, the generator 96 and the main switchboard 40 are located in the engine room 10. Because the main switchboard 40 is located near the generator 96 in this way, the power supply cable connecting the main switchboard 40 and the generator 96 can be shortened. Note that the main switchboard 40 may be connected to a plurality of generators 96.

[0019] <Cargo Switchboard> The cargo switchboard 50 is a device that supplies electricity received from the main switchboard 40 to the cargo equipment 30. Therefore, the cargo switchboard 50 is located on the power supply cable 97 that connects the main switchboard 40 and the cargo equipment 30. The cargo switchboard 50 may also function as a starter panel that collects the starters of the cargo equipment 30. As shown in FIG. 3 , the cargo switchboard 50 includes a first cargo switchboard 51 and a second cargo switchboard 52. The first cargo switchboard 51 supplies the electricity received from the main switchboard 40 to the first cargo equipment 31. Furthermore, the second cargo switchboard 52 supplies the electricity received from the main switchboard 40 to the second cargo equipment 32.

[0020] <Cargo switchboard room> The cargo switchboard room 60 is a room that houses the cargo switchboard 50. As shown in Fig. 1 , the cargo switchboard room 60 is independent from the engine room 10 and the accommodation space 20. In other words, the cargo switchboard room 60 is separated from the engine room 10 and the accommodation space 20 by a partition such as a wall.

[0021] Because the cargo switchboard room 60 is independent from the engine room 10, even if a fire breaks out in the engine room 10 due to an unexpected event, the cargo switchboard 50 in the cargo switchboard room 60 is protected and can be used. Therefore, the cargo equipment 30 allows the unloading of liquefied gas from the cargo tanks 95 to continue, preventing an excessive increase in pressure in the cargo tanks 95 and preventing secondary disasters caused by a fire in the engine room 10. This improves safety.

[0022] Also, the cargo switchboard room 60 can be arranged in the accommodation space 20 independent from the engine room 10, but if the cargo switchboard room 60 is arranged in the accommodation space 20 located in the bow area 92, the power feed cable 97 connecting the main switchboard 40 and the cargo equipment 30 will become longer. On the other hand, by arranging the cargo switchboard room 60 independent from the accommodation space 20 as in this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the power feed cable 97 connecting the main switchboard 40 and the cargo equipment 30 from becoming longer. As a result, the manufacturing cost of the liquefied gas carrier 100 can be reduced.

[0023] 2, the cargo switchboard room 60 in this embodiment is located in the stern area 91. This shortens the distance from the main switchboard 40 to the cargo switchboard room 60 and the distance from the cargo switchboard room 60 to the cargo equipment 30, thereby enabling the power supply cable 97 (FIG. 3) connecting the main switchboard 40 and the cargo equipment 30 to be shortened. This further reduces the manufacturing costs of the liquefied gas carrier 100.

[0024] In addition, the cargo switchboard room 60 in this embodiment is located above the freeboard deck. The "freeboard deck" here refers to the uppermost full-length deck. Furthermore, a full-length deck refers to a deck that is continuous from the bow to the stern. In this embodiment, the exposed deck 94 corresponds to the freeboard deck. If the cargo switchboard room 60 is located above the freeboard deck as in this embodiment, even if the engine room 10 is flooded, the cargo switchboard 50 will not be submerged in water. Therefore, the operation of the cargo equipment 30 can be maintained by, for example, supplying power from an emergency generator located above the freeboard deck or connecting a separate electric wire to the cargo switchboard 50.

[0025] Furthermore, the cargo switchboard room 60 in this embodiment is located above the lower engine room 13 and at a distance in the vertical direction from the lower engine room 13. There may simply be a space between the cargo switchboard room 60 and the lower engine room 13, or a room surrounded by walls may be located therebetween. Because the cargo switchboard room 60 is located at a distance in the vertical direction from the lower engine room 13, the cargo switchboard 50 in the cargo switchboard room 60 is more likely to be protected in the event of a fire or flooding in the lower engine room 13, further improving safety.

[0026] The side of the cargo switchboard room 60 is adjacent to the engine room 10 (the engine room upper part 14). As shown in FIG. 2, the cargo switchboard room 60 includes an A-60 class partition 63 located on the side adjacent to the engine room 10. Here, the "A-60 class partition" is a partition defined in SOLAS (the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea). Specifically, an A-60 class partition is a partition that is heat-insulated with a non-combustible material so that, for 60 minutes after the outbreak of a fire, the average temperature on the side not exposed to the fire does not rise by more than 140 degrees Celsius above the initial temperature, and the temperature at any point, including joints, does not rise by more than 180 degrees Celsius above the initial temperature.

[0027] As described above, the cargo switchboard room 60 of this embodiment includes an A-60 class partition 63 located on the side that contacts the engine room 10, so even if a fire breaks out in the engine room 10, the cargo switchboard 50 in the cargo switchboard room 60 can be protected from the fire for a certain period of time, during which time the cargo equipment 30 can be operated by supplying power from an emergency generator or by connecting a separate electric wire. Note that if the bottom of the cargo switchboard room 60 contacts the engine room 10, the cargo switchboard room 60 may include an A-60 class partition located on the bottom, and if the top of the cargo switchboard room 60 contacts the engine room 10, the cargo switchboard room 60 may include an A-60 class partition located on the top.

[0028] 3 , the cargo switchboard room 60 includes a first cargo switchboard room 61 and a second cargo switchboard room 62. The first cargo switchboard room 61 houses the first cargo switchboard 51, and the second cargo switchboard room 62 houses the second cargo switchboard 52. Furthermore, the second cargo switchboard room 62 is independent from the first cargo switchboard room 61. Therefore, even if the first cargo switchboard room 61 is damaged and the first cargo switchboard 51 cannot operate the first cargo equipment 31, the second cargo equipment 32 can be operated by the second cargo switchboard 52 housed in the second cargo switchboard room 62. In other words, according to this embodiment, the reliability of the liquefied gas carrier 100 can be improved by redundancy.

[0029] <External Access Passage> The external access passage 70 is a passage connecting the exposed hull portion 98 and the cargo switchboard room 60. The external access passage 70 may be a staircase or a slope. Here, the "exposed hull portion" refers to the portion of the hull 90 that is open to the atmosphere. Because the liquefied gas carrier 100 is equipped with the external access passage 70 as described above, in an emergency, workers can evacuate from the cargo switchboard room 60 to the exposed hull portion 98 without passing through the engine room 10, for example, and can also access the cargo switchboard room 60 from the exposed hull portion 98. This improves the safety of the liquefied gas carrier 100.

[0030] (Summary) The first item disclosed in this specification is a liquefied gas carrier comprising an engine room located in the stern area at the rear of the hull, accommodation areas located in the bow area at the front of the hull, cargo equipment located in the cargo area at the center of the hull, a main switchboard located in the stern area, a cargo switchboard that distributes electricity received from the main switchboard to the cargo equipment, and a cargo switchboard room that houses the cargo switchboard and is independent of the engine room and the accommodation areas.

[0031] With this configuration, even if a fire breaks out in the engine room due to an unexpected event, the cargo switchboard can be protected, preventing secondary disasters caused by the fire in the engine room. Furthermore, the length of the power supply cable connecting the switchboard and the cargo equipment can be reduced. This improves safety and reduces the manufacturing costs of liquefied gas carriers.

[0032] A second item disclosed in this specification is the liquefied gas carrier according to the first item, wherein the cargo switchboard room is located in the aft area.

[0033] According to this configuration, the power supply cable connecting the distribution panel and the cargo equipment can be shortened, further reducing the manufacturing costs of the liquefied gas carrier.

[0034] A third item disclosed in this specification is a liquefied gas carrier according to the first or second item, wherein the cargo switchboard room is located above the freeboard deck.

[0035] With this configuration, even if the engine room is flooded, the cargo switchboard will not be submerged in water, and operation of cargo equipment can be maintained.

[0036] The fourth item disclosed in this specification is a liquefied gas carrier described in any one of items 1 to 3, wherein the engine room includes a lower engine room section located below the exposed deck, and the cargo switchboard room is located above the lower engine room section and at a vertical distance from the lower engine room section.

[0037] With this configuration, even if a fire or flooding occurs below the engine room, the cargo switchboard room is less likely to be affected.

[0038] A fifth item disclosed in this specification is a liquefied gas carrier according to any one of items 1 to 4, wherein at least a portion of the cargo switchboard room is adjacent to the engine room, and the cargo switchboard room includes an A-60 class partition located in the portion adjacent to the engine room.

[0039] With this configuration, even if a fire breaks out in the engine room, the cargo switchboard in the cargo switchboard room can be protected from the fire for a certain period of time, allowing cargo equipment to be operated during that time.

[0040] The sixth item disclosed in this specification is a liquefied gas carrier, wherein the cargo equipment includes first cargo equipment and second cargo equipment, the cargo switchboard includes a first cargo switchboard that supplies electricity received from the main switchboard to the first cargo equipment, and a second cargo switchboard that supplies electricity received from the main switchboard to the second cargo equipment, and the cargo switchboard room includes a first cargo switchboard room that houses the first cargo switchboard, and a second cargo switchboard room that is independent from the first cargo switchboard room and houses the second cargo switchboard.

[0041] According to this configuration, the reliability of the liquefied gas carrier can be improved by providing redundancy.

[0042] The seventh item disclosed in this specification is a liquefied gas carrier according to any one of the first to sixth items, further comprising an external access passage connecting an exposed hull portion that is open to the atmosphere and the cargo distribution panel room.

[0043] This configuration can improve the safety of the liquefied gas carrier.

[0044] 10 Engine room 11 Main engine 13 Lower part of engine room 14 Upper part of engine room 20 Accommodation space 30 Cargo equipment 31 First cargo equipment 32 Second cargo equipment 33 First cargo pump 34 Second cargo pump 35 Spray pump 40 Main switchboard 50 Cargo switchboard 51 First cargo switchboard 52 Second cargo switchboard 60 Cargo switchboard room 61 First cargo switchboard room 62 Second cargo switchboard room 63 A-60 class partition 70 External access passage 90 Hull 91 Stern area 92 Bow area 93 Cargo area 94 Exposed deck 97 Power supply cable 98 Exposed part of hull 100 Liquefied gas carrier

Claims

1. A liquefied gas carrier comprising: an engine room located in the stern area at the rear of the hull; accommodation space located in the bow area at the front of the hull; cargo equipment located in the cargo area in the center of the hull; a main switchboard located in the stern area; a cargo switchboard that distributes electricity received from the main switchboard to the cargo equipment; and a cargo switchboard room that houses the cargo switchboard and is independent of the engine room and accommodation space.

2. A liquefied gas carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cargo switchboard room is located in said aft area.

3. A liquefied gas carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cargo switchboard room is located above the freeboard deck.

4. A liquefied gas carrier as described in claim 1, wherein the engine room includes an engine room lower section located below the weather deck, and the cargo switchboard room is located above the engine room lower section and spaced apart vertically from the engine room lower section.

5. A liquefied gas carrier as described in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the cargo switchboard room is adjacent to the engine room, and the cargo switchboard room includes an A-60 class partition located in the portion adjacent to the engine room.

6. A liquefied gas carrier as described in claim 1, wherein the cargo equipment includes a first cargo equipment and a second cargo equipment, the cargo switchboard includes a first cargo switchboard that supplies electricity received from the main switchboard to the first cargo equipment and a second cargo switchboard that supplies electricity received from the main switchboard to the second cargo equipment, and the cargo switchboard room includes a first cargo switchboard room that houses the first cargo switchboard, and a second cargo switchboard room that is independent from the first cargo switchboard room and houses the second cargo switchboard.

7. A liquefied gas carrier as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an external access passageway connecting an exposed portion of the hull open to the atmosphere with said cargo switchboard room.

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