Myths and Facts


Although there is a lot of information published about LNG, not all of it is accurate and much is misleading or taken out of context.  This page provides facts to clarify or correct some of the questions or statements we have seen.

"In 1996, six crew members on the vessel LNG Portovenere died in a shipboard fire."
  • A fire occurred in the engine room of the LNG carrier SNAM Portovenere, during sea trials on 2 October 1996.  Six crew were asphyxiated while fighting this fire, when the CO2 extinguishing system was activated, flooding the engine room with CO2.  Subsequently, a Genoa court sentenced five men to imprisonment of up to 26 months on manslaughter charges relating to this event.
  • No LNG was involved in this incident.

"In 2005 and 2006, the vessels Methane Kari Elin and Catalunya Spirit suffered damaged insulation and leaks in the cargo tanks, requiring extensive ship yard repair."
  • The Methane Kari Elin had a nitrogen leak in 2005, which was subsequently repaired.  We know of no leaks reported on the Catalunya Spirit, although it was out of service for routine overhaul in 2006, and this included work on insulation.  We know of no reports of LNG leaks from either vessel.

"There have been 26 accidents from 1965-2006, 10 of which involved an LNG spill, out of 45,000 LNG tanker voyages."
  • Gasbridge is aware of 31 shipping incidents reported in association with LNG carriers.  (You can download the Safety History of International LNG Operations.)  Of these 31 incidents, only 12 involved any spill of LNG and these were reported to be very small quantities resulting from loading and unloading operations, such as disconnecting pipes or overfilling vessels.
  • “The LNG shipping industry has just completed 42 years of operations, during which time 47,000 cargoes have been successfully delivered and over 100 million nautical miles have been logged by laden LNG carriers.  In the history of LNG shipping to date there has never been a major spill of LNG; no LNG containment system has been breached; and no crew member has ever been killed as a result of a cargo incident.”  from: LNG World Shipping, 22 Dec 2006.

"Since 1944, there have been approximately 13 serious accidents at these facilities directly related to LNG."
  • We are aware of eighteen reported incidents at LNG facilities.  (You can download the Safety History of International LNG Operations.)  Of those eighteen incidents, five occurred at importing terminals and only two of these reported casualties.  Since 1979, there have been no injuries or fatalities at LNG importing terminals.

"The 2004 fire at the LNG processing facility in Skikda, Algeria killed 27 workers and injured 74."
  • The Skikda facility is a liquefaction plant, which is fundamentally different to a regasification terminal as proposed by Gasbridge.
  • The Skikda incident occurred in the liquefaction part of the plant.
  • The LNG storage tanks and ship loading equipment at Skikda were not damaged by this incident.
  • There were no public deaths or injuries due to this incident.

"Late in 2006, there was a significant leak (or explosion) of LNG at Fushun in China."
  • There is only one LNG terminal in China, at Guangdong.  Its construction was completed in 2006 and there has been no LNG leak or explosion reported at this facility.
  • There was a reported leak from an LPG tank at Fushun, China early in December 2006, resulting in evacuation of the neighbourhood.  There was no explosion reported.  Some media reports incorrectly stated this as an LNG leak, although there is no LNG at that facility.

"A pool fire arising from a spill of 300,000 cubic metres of LNG would melt steel at a distance of 800 metres and burn skin at a distance of 2.5 kilometres."
  • Offshore LNG facilities are associated with the largest calculated heat effects, but even these assess heat flux levels as being far less than these.
  • For example, assessment of the Cabrillo off shore LNG facility postulated a scenario of simultaneous and massive leaks from all three LNG tanks.  This scenario is so unlikely that it is considered to be not credible by specialists studying the report.  Theoretical analysis of this scenario calculated a peak heat flux that would only warm steel structures at 810 m, not melt them.

If you have any further comments or questions about any of these points, or about any other aspect of the Gasbridge project, please contact us using the email form or ring 0800 427 564.