Guiding LNG investment

RINA has been awarded a framework contract by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) to support initiatives to increase the availability of LNG in the medium term with small scale bunkering and depots to help expand the use of this fuel throughout the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas.

Services provided by RINA will help port authorities determine which locations are feasible, both in terms of safety and technical and financial viability, to install small scale LNG bunkering or depot facilities.

Angelo Lo Nigro, energy engineering solutions senior director at RINA, said: “LNG is an important fuel on our way to decarbonisation. The services we will be providing as part of the frame agreement with EMSA will help make LNG storage and bunkering available in port areas and will also bring consistency and guidance for economically developing nations that do not yet have strong experience with small scale LNG.”

Eight analysis services

RINA is providing a total of eight different services, from which each port authority can choose according to its goals. The activities include gap analysis of regulatory frame and evaluation of applicable standards, feasibility study, definition of risk acceptance criteria, site analysis, nautical analysis, hazard identification, quantitative risk assessment, and ship collision risk study.

Having a common methodology and framework will give nations, where there is a gap in LNG infrastructure, access to a high standard of qualified guidance, regulatory compliance, and safety.

The framework contract will run for a period of four years.