LNG Shipping And Terminals Conference London 2022

The BMA was proud to attend the LNG Shipping and Terminals conference in London earlier this month. The event brought together key players from the LNG shipping community who addressed highly topical issues facing the industry.

In attendance at the event were Captain Óli Olsen, Head of Seafarers & Manning, Alessandro Lo Piccolo from the Inspections & Surveys department, and Charlotte Ward, The BMA’s Marketing Manager. The Bahamas is a key market leader for ship registration across the LNG sector and the team has developed a deep knowledge and understanding of the specific needs of these specialised ships. Currently we have some 90+ registered LNG vessels in the fleet.

The LNG industry is facing a major paradigm shift in response to the war in Ukraine. Seeking energy security, countries around Europe are looking to bring infrastructure for LNG imports online in record time. FSRUs, FSUs and terminal infrastructure are in high demand worldwide, as are the expertise and experience to deliver an LNG project. Given the criticality of all these factors to a project’s success, the race to secure the right resources is accelerating around the globe. 

This unprecedented fast-tracking of major projects is also fuelling widespread concern among LNG professionals about the potential for a safety incident that could affect the future of the entire industry. Questions need to be debated and resolutions agreed upon, identifying the processes and safeguards we need to uphold to ensure the wrong corners are not cut. 

And, of course, the ultimate concern is how we can achieve the required speed of delivery without compromising safety.  

At the same time, the industry is preparing for the new SIRE 2.0 inspection regime and the EEXI and CII emissions regulations. As the implementation of these new rules becomes imminent, November will be an ideal time to share approaches to compliance. And, looking ahead to the green transition, we also need to be considering whether we can future-proof new infrastructure for compatibility with sustainable marine fuels.  

The conference featured technical decision makers from across the LNG community, including vessel and terminal owners and operators, molecule suppliers, EPC contractors, solution providers, NGOs and government, who came together to define the roadmap for the successful delivery of the LNG infrastructure of the future.