IRClass classes India’s first FSRU

Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) has classed India’s first FSRU marking a milestone in India’s energy shift towards natural gas.

Constructed at Hyundai Shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, the 180,000-cbm FSRU which is flagged in India, is designed for continuous operations without the need for drydocking over a period of 20 years.

The unit is assigned class notation for 20 years extended interval between successive dry-dockings and complies with the requirements of IRClass Rules and Indian Flag for this purpose.

The unit is owned by Triumph Offshore, a unit of Swan Energy, an India-based listed company.

The vessel can operate in LNG carrier mode and floating storage regasification unit mode. This allows the utilization of the FSRU for receiving LNG from LNG carriers, regasification of the LNG, and sending it out.

The vessel complies with the recently updated rules of IRClass applicable for LNG carriers provided with regasification systems and takes into account various risks associated with such systems by appropriate risk control measures.

The updated IRClass main rules for seagoing ships, covers the requirements for regasification systems in a separate chapter. These are addressing various aspects such as systems design, fire safety, emergency shutdown arrangements, survey and testing requirements etc.

The vessel has also been verified with respect to the requirements of the IGC Code and IRClass Rules for Gas carriers.

With strong government support and improved infrastructure in India, the prospects for natural gas are expected to rise significantly to meet growing energy demands in the country.

This is also in line with the Indian government’s vision to build a gas-based economy and increase the share of natural gas in the primary energy mix to 15 per cent by 2030, up from 6 per cent today.

This will also contribute towards IMO’s aim of reducing GHG emissions.