Hanwha Ocean said it has completed what it describes as the world’s first ship-to-ship transfer of liquefied natural gas between two vessels that were both under sea trials.
The company stated that the method reduces environmental impact and helps avoid schedule delays caused by congestion at LNG terminals.
In conventional gas trials, a newly built LNG carrier loads small volumes from a terminal to cool down tanks and test systems, then returns the remaining gas to shore.
According to Hanwha Ocean, the new approach allows that trial LNG to be transferred directly to another trial vessel at sea, improving turnaround time and operational flexibility.
“This breakthrough not only reduces environmental impact but also resolves the risk of schedule delays caused by terminal congestion,” the company said.
The company has previously pursued similar gas-trial innovations. In November 2020, when operating as DSME, Hanwha Ocean and the classification society Korean Register carried out the first ship-to-ship LNG loading for a gas trial inside a shipyard at Okpo, using the LNG bunker vessel SM Jeju LNG2.
Hanwha Ocean is a South Korean shipbuilding company based in Geoje, Gyeongsangnam-do. It specializes in constructing liquefied natural gas carriers, floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), and other offshore vessels. The company was formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME) before becoming part of Hanwha Group.
