Page 16 - 2025 - Q1 - Minerva in Focus

MINERVA IN FOCUS Training personnel in the use of LNG as fuel

valves will ensure the automatic ventilation of the supply piping
downstream.
• Understanding hazards and taking safety precautions
Gases expand with an increase in temperature, and when this
takes place in closed spaces such as tanks or piping, pres-
sure increases, approaching the system’s pressure relief limits.
Adequate knowledge of the health, safety, and environmental
hazards is necessary. Protection from frostbite, preventing the
ship’s hull from coming into contact with LNG, understanding
flammability levels, recognising the hazards associated with
the high-pressure gas supply system delivering fuel to the main
engine, etc., are all means to eliminate the risks.
STCW Regulation V/3 defines the mandatory minimum training and
qualification requirements for Masters, Officers, and Ratings on ships
subject to the IGF Code.
• All seafarers must hold an “IGF Code Basic Training Certificate”.
• The Master and all Officers (as well as any personnel with im-
mediate responsibility for bunkering and handling LNG fuels)
must hold an “IGF Code Advanced Training Certificate”.

Special training There are two ways to obtain the above Certificates of Proficiency:

requirements 1. Through IGF Code training and seagoing experience only on
dual-fuel (LNG-fuelled) oil tankers.
for seafarers on ships To obtain the Basic Training Certificate, successful completion of
the IGF Code Basic Training is required.
subject to the IGF Code To obtain the Advanced Training Certificate, there are three pre-
requisites:
• IGF Code Basic Training Certificate.
• Successful completion of the IGF Code Advanced Training
by Stylianos Volakis, • At least one month of approved seagoing service, including
Training Manager, three bunkering operations on an IGF Code-compliant
Athina Maritime Training vessel (two out of the three can be simulator training).
& Development Center
2. Through IGC Code training and seagoing experience only
on LNG carriers.
The minimum training requirements for seafarers on ships using To obtain the Advanced IGF Code Training Certificate, Officers must:
LNG as fuel are defined in the STCW Code and the two IMO Model • Hold the Advanced Liquified Gas Tanker Certificate (STCW
Courses on Basic and Advanced Training under the IGF Code. Reg. V/1.2.4).
While these training requirements broadly refer to liquified gas fuels • Apply to obtain the IGF Code Basic Training Certificate.
and other low-flashpoint fuels, LNG is the dominant fuel of this • Have participated in three LNG cargo operations.
type, with an increasing number of bunker vessels, terminals, and • Have at least three months of service in LNG Carriers in
LNG-fuelled vessels entering the market. the last 5 years.
The minimum training requirements for Masters and Deck/Engineer • Apply to obtain the IGF Code Advanced Training Certificate.
Officers with direct responsibility for the care and use of LNG as
fuel and the associated LNG fuel systems are summarised below: Note: Ratings or Officers who have the Basic or Advanced
Liquified Gas Tanker Certificate of Training can apply to issue the
• Adequate knowledge of the physical and chemical prop- Basic IGF Code Certificate.
erties of LNG
Pressure and temperature monitoring during bunkering and all
other stages of ship operation is critical, even when the vessel
is equipped with Type C tanks of relatively high design pressure. A “living” boiling fuel on deck bunker tanks
• Adequate knowledge of the safety functions of the fuel
gas supply system The words “Bunker” or “Bunker Tanks” are be-
The fuel gas supply system includes the submerged fuel pumps, lieved to have been originally used in the 18th century,
the high-pressure supply pumps with the vaporizer, and the referring to underdeck shelters or containers used to store
boil-off gas compressor, together with the master gas valve and coal as fuel for steamships. Now, in LNG-fuelled tankers
the safety double block and bleed valve for each gas consumer and other types of ships, the preferred storage method is on
of the vessel. At the same time, the system acts as the vessel’s deck in tanks that are similar to strong, pressurised vessels.
“guardian” since, in case of a shut down, the above-mentioned

14 ISSUE 31 / Q1 2025