Design & Operation of LPG Ships

First announcement and call for papers: Following the success of the 2006 International conference on Design, Construction and Operation of Natural Gas Carriers and Offshore Systems, RINA will be holding a new conference in January 2008 relating to the Design and Operation of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) ships. If you wish to submit an abstract for this event, please send a short abstract by 5th November 2007. Anticipated deadline for submission of the final paper will be the first week of January 2008.

LPG vessels may have pressurised, semi-pressurised or fully refrigerated cargo systems, able to trade from both pressure and refrigerated storages. Fully-refrigerated ships will require a chiller to cool down LPG at the load port or a re-heater to warm LPG discharging into pressure storage. The problematic characteristics of LPG have made it a late developer.

The United Arab Emirates is the largest producer of LPG and Qatar's LPG market is now tipped to go the same way as its LNG market; it is on course to become the second largest producer of LPG by 2010 with an output of 14 million tonnes per annum. With increased LPG supplies, driven by increased LNG production and crude oil refining, operators could expect dramatically increased freight rates. At present there are orders for over 200 LPG ships, 60 of which are over 60,000 cu m. With the great changes expected in the LPG industry, this conference will provide a forum for discussion and a means of professional development for those involved with the design, construction and operation of LPG ships.

RINA invites papers on all aspects of the design and operation of LPG ships and associated systems, including the following topics:

• Design of vessels, large capacity, Short sea and Coastal vessels
• Design and Construction of pressurised, semi-pressurised and refrigerated cargo systems
• Design practice, construction and materials selection
• Corrosion and fatigue management and control
• Stress and integrity analysis
• Tank construction, welding and weld inspection
• Cargo handling systems, engineering and equipment
• Loading, unloading, operational developments
• Regulation and Operation