The Role of SIGTTO LNG Safety in Advancing Industry Standards

SIGTTO LNG Safety plays a crucial role in ensuring the highest standards of safety and operational excellence in the LNG shipping industry. By promoting best practices among its members, SIGTTO helps to enhance the reliability and efficiency of LNG operations worldwide. The organization fosters collaboration among LNG carrier operators and terminal facilities to address safety challenges collectively. Through regular meetings and the sharing of knowledge, SIGTTO supports continuous improvement and innovation in the sector. As a result, members benefit from an exemplary safety record and reduced operational risks. The commitment to integrity and safety remains at the forefront of SIGTTO‘s mission to advance the LNG industry.

SIGTTO – the face of the LNG shipping and terminal industry

SIGTTO’s impartiality, integrity and commitment are cornerstones underpinning the exemplary safety record established by LNG carrier and terminal operators.

There was no body dedicated to liquefied gas during the formative years of the industry. Although the International Group of LNG Importers (GIIGNL) was established in 1971, this still left a gap, most notably as regards gas carriers and their interface with terminals.

During the 1977–78 period a number of operators of LNG vessels in mutual correspondence had expressed interest in the establishment of some form of association in which LNG Gas Carrier Sector: A Comprehensive Update on Trade, Fleet, and Efficiencycarrier operators internationally could assist each other in tackling safety and reliability issues and maintaining high operational standards across their expanding industry.

Stemming from this interest a series of meetings was convened in order to discuss the need for and possible formation of such an association. The first meeting took place at the Princess Hotel in Hamilton, Bermuda on 11-12 December 1978. The meeting had been called at the request of El Paso LNG Company following suggestions made by Compagnie Nationale Algérienne de Navigation (CNAN) and others that such an organisation could prove useful. At the time, the intention was to call the new group the Society for International Methane Tanker Operators (SIMTO).

Although the initial interest was centred on LNG carrier operations, these meetings included representatives from across the liquefied gas transportation field. It was quickly recognised that any such association would be the more valuable if it encompassed all forms of liquefied gas carrier operations (LPG and chemical gases as well as LNG) and if it also included the operation of terminals loading or receiving these cargoes.

In recognising this it was appreciated that safety and reliability issues were broadly similar throughout the various forms of liquefied gas marine transportation. Also, there would be great value in providing a channel of direct liaison between ship and terminal operators in the matters of safety and reliability at the ship/shore interface.

It was understood that in developing and maintaining appropriate safety standards and in gaining public acceptance of these standards, the various components of the industry – LNG and LPG ships and terminals – were mutually supportive. The Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators (SIGTTO) was therefore decided upon as the most appropriate name for the new industry body.

In these formative discussions the participants had the very ready help of senior executives from the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF). Both bodies had already included consideration of the liquefied gas shipping industry within their activities and both already had consultative status with IMCO (now IMO).

A most pertinent question clearly was whether the perceived aims and activities of the proposed new organisation could not be more appropriately achieved by ICS and OCIMF, either singly or in combination. It was concluded, however, that an association dedicated exclusively to the liquefied gas marine transportation industry and providing under one umbrella a comprehensive forum for operators both on ship and shore would be the most appropriate means of achieving the desired objectives.

As a result of these formative meetings, the Society of International Various Types of Liquefied Gas TankersGas Tankers and Terminal Operators Ltd came into existence as a Bermuda-exempted company with limited liability and with availability of membership and shareholding in the company to those owning or operating a liquefied gas carrier or a liquefied gas marine terminal. The first board meeting was held in Bermuda on 5 October 1979. The founder members were:

• El Paso LNG Company.
• Energy Transportation Corp.
• Malaysian International Shipping Corp.
• BP Tanker Company Ltd.
• Moore, McCormack Bulk Transport Ltd.
• P&O Bulk Shipping Ltd.
• Gotaas Larsen Inc.
• Marine Transport Lines.
• Exxon.

A further board meeting with more members present was held in Houston on 12 November 1979. At this board meeting Maurice Holdsworth was appointed as the first general manager of the Society and Barry Hunsaker of El Paso Natural Gas as the founding president. At this time there were 52 LNG carriers in service.

The first technical advisor was Dick Oldham, who joined SIGTTO in July 1980. He recalls his appointment well: «Maurice Holdsworth and the nine founder members had set up in an office near Marble Arch in London. I had been a newbuilding superintendent, having been involved with the G-class LNG carriers and the two I-class LPG carriers for Shell, and was used to being fairly autonomous. The attraction of joining an unknown and embryonic SIGTTO was pretty small. However, Maurice persuaded me and I became SIGTTO’s first technical adviser in July 1980. The offices in Staple Hall were much better than Marble Arch and my job was made much easier as a result of the support given by our excellent members».

The first technical issues the society dealt with were as follows:

• Contingency planning.
• Ship/shore linked emergency shutdown.
• Safe havens.
• Cargo strainers.
• Training.

It is interesting to note that the SIGTTO General Purposes Committee in 2014 is still discussing most of the above to some degree or another!

By the end of the first year the membership had grown to 30 companies, including several terminal operators. One of the immediate priorities was to achieve consultative status at IMO. This was achieved in 1982 when the membership had grown to 50 companies. By this time the Society had an active GPC and a well-established Panel Meeting programme.

In the following years SIGTTO steadily grew in membership and progressed to a point where it was acknowledged as the authoritative voice of the liquefied gas shipping and terminals industries. This position rests on the reputation that the Society quickly established for its impartiality and integrity in addressing operational and safety issues. A number of publications were released to the industry as a result of issues addressed by the GPC and working groups.

Robin Gray became the second SIGTTO general manager in May 1985, by which time the Society had over 60 members. Bruce Kier became general manager in June 1991 and in April 1993 the Society moved into its present offices at St Helen’s Place in London. The next day the infamous Bishopsgate car bomb explosion occurred nearby. It was a Saturday morning and, although no one from the Secretariat was in the office at the time, the damage to the immediate area was substantial. Access to the office was not permitted for several weeks afterwards.

In 1994 membership passed the 100 mark. Alain Vaudolon served as general manager from July 1995 to July 1998, when John Gyles succeeded him. That year the number of LNG ships in service had just passed 100. By the time James MacHardy was appointed general manager in February 2003 the industry was entering a phase of rapid expansion. Many new players were entering the marketplace and new projects, terminals and ships were being commissioned.

Read also: Maritime Standards Explained. A Focus on EN ISO 20519, ISO/TS 18683, and Supporting Guidelines

The seventh general manager, Bill Wayne, was appointed in May 2007 and he led the Society through a period of great change in the Understanding Liquefied Gas Manifolds – Size Categories, Positioning, and Specific Designs for LPG & LNGliquefied gas shipping and terminals industry. Floating liquefaction and regasification vessels were being ordered and put into service while ship size and numbers were increasing and new technologies, including innovative propulsion systems, were being introduced.

In a major project SIGTTO facilitated the revision of The International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied gases in Bulk (IGC Code) on behalf of IMO. In 2008 the Society formed nine working groups under the auspices of a steering group to undertake this work. Carried out over a two-year period, the revision of the document involved nearly 140 experts representing over 40 entities and 20 countries.

SIGTTO ensured that the draft revised IGC Code was delivered to IMO according to the agreed timetable. The draft was approved at the 92nd Session of IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 92) in June 2013 and it was adopted at MSC 93 in May 2014. The revised IGC Code will come into force in 2016.

In November 2012 Andrew Clifton, the present general manager, took over the reins, becoming SIGTTO’s first general manager who was formerly a technical advisor. In 2013 SIGTTO established the Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF) as a separate industry body to oversee the use of LNG as a marine fuel.

SIGTTO’s General Purposes Committee and its Secretariat provide the vehicle through which the knowledge and information gathering within the organisation can best be promulgated to the members and the regulatory bodies that influence the industry. SIGTTO has published over 50 books, recommendations and guidelines. On average, two such documents per year have been produced or updated.

The Society is as strong now as it has ever been. The membership controls around 97 percent of the world’s LNG vessels and terminals and encompasses around one-half of the LPG market. SIGTTO now has more members than ever before and remains the industry leader for best practice and technical support for liquefied gas shipping and terminals.

In 50 years of commercial shipping operation LNG carriers have carried over 77 000 cargoes. During this period there has been no loss of cargo tank containment and no onboard fatalities directly attributable to the cargo. This is a very impressive, in fact unprecedented, safety record for the carriage of liquid hydrocarbons in bulk by sea. SIGTTO has played a key part in achieving this safety record.

The philosophy of the Society is best described in the words of its founding president, Barry Hunsaker of El Paso Natural Gas, some 35 years ago: «We will best achieve our goals by sharing with each other our non-proprietary technical and safety information and operating experiences through open and frank discussion. Only in this way will each of us benefit from the experience and knowledge gained by all of us and thus maximise the safety of our operations. Remember, the industry will be judged by the record of its least safe operator. Let’s help ourselves by helping that operator».