For the purpose of the compatibility study of vessel to vessel bunking operation, two vessels’ scale and hull form is studied, the facilities are calculated and selected. The mooring arrangement and person transfer is also checked. The time for bunkering is estimated. The results showed that these two vessels have good basic conditions and compatibility for ship to ship bunkering operations. The fender selection method and mooring arrangement is good reference for the designer of dual fuel vessel design, and the assess process is helpful for engineering practice of the bunkering operation.
As the International Maritime Organization's requirements for NOx and SOX emissions are further strengthened, clean energy such as methanol, LNG, ammonia and other marine fuels have become more and more choices for vessel owners (Xie et al. 2021). Bunkering vessels and dual-fuel vessels using side hose bunkering is currently the most important bunkering operation mode. At present, the IGF code(2017) has mature advise about the LNG fueled vessel design. OCIMF(2010) requires that in order to ensure the safety of the operation process, the two vessels should be evaluated for compatibility before bunkering operations. For two vessels with large differences in size and freeboard, it is particularly important to evaluate the compatibility when using hoses for side bunkering operations. At present, there is no perfect evaluation system and mature evaluation method for the global dual-fuel power vessel and bunkering vessel bunkering operation compatibility assessment, and the relevant matching content should be evaluated according to relevant industry standards. With the goal of bunkering a large LNG bunkering vessel for an LNG dual-fuel container vessel, the compatibility of bunkering operations was analyzed, and the matching of vessel type, fender selection, mooring arrangement, bunkering manifold layout, hose length, hose crane working scope and capacity, and personnel transfer were evaluated respectively to meet the requirements of bunkering operations, and the time taken in the bunkering process was estimated to provide support for the actual bunkering operation.
