IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0960490
(2010-12-04)
|
등록번호 |
US-8375876
(2013-02-19)
|
발명자
/ 주소 |
|
출원인 / 주소 |
- Argent Marine Management, Inc.
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
5 인용 특허 :
13 |
초록
▼
A marine vessel, and a system and method of using the marine vessel, to facilitate the introduction of bulk liquid commodities, such as LNG, into the established and extensive worldwide intermodal transportation system, which is based on containerized shipments. The marine vessel is a specialized ve
A marine vessel, and a system and method of using the marine vessel, to facilitate the introduction of bulk liquid commodities, such as LNG, into the established and extensive worldwide intermodal transportation system, which is based on containerized shipments. The marine vessel is a specialized vessel, of either ship or barge form, that is capable of holding a large number of ISO-sized intermodal LNG tanks and is configured so as to have at one and the same time characteristics of both a tanker vessel (e.g., a gas carrier) and a container vessel. The intermodal LNG tanks connect to a piping system of the marine vessel and are thereby interconnected in such a manner that allows the interconnected intermodal LNG tanks to behave as if they constitute a typical LNG vessel bulk liquid tank to facilitate efficient loading at a typical marine LNG terminal. The containerized intermodal LNG tanks are capable of discharging liquids to a marine terminal as if in a bulk mode, or of being disconnected from the common interconnection system to allow lift-off discharge of the intermodal LNG tanks at a typical cargo container port so that the intermodal LNG tanks can enter the existing intermodal transportation system for further distribution to the end user by other marine vessels, over-the-road truck, or by rail.
대표청구항
▼
1. A marine vessel, comprising: a main deck;one or more container cell guides disposed above the main deck;one or more ISO intermodal LNG tanks disposed in the container cell guides to form one or more stacking levels of intermodal LNG tanks;a liquid transfer system comprising a liquid transfer syst
1. A marine vessel, comprising: a main deck;one or more container cell guides disposed above the main deck;one or more ISO intermodal LNG tanks disposed in the container cell guides to form one or more stacking levels of intermodal LNG tanks;a liquid transfer system comprising a liquid transfer system header for each stacking level of the intermodal LNG tanks, wherein each one of the intermodal LNG tanks in a stacking level of intermodal LNG tanks is individually coupled to the liquid transfer system header for that stacking level of intermodal LNG tanks to transfer LNG to and from the intermodal LNG tanks;a vapor system comprising a vapor system header for each stacking level of the intermodal LNG tanks, wherein each one of the intermodal LNG tanks in a stacking level of intermodal LNG tanks is individually coupled to the vapor system header for that stacking level of intermodal LNG tanks to transfer boil-off as from the intermodal LNG tanks; anda boil-off gas control system coupled to the vapor system header to maintain vapor pressure in each one of the intermodal LNG tanks at a desired level. 2. The marine vessel of claim 1, wherein LNG can be transferred to and from the one or more ISO intermodal LNG tanks as if in a bulk mode. 3. The marine vessel of claim 1, further comprising a vent system comprising a vent system header for each stacking level of the intermodal LNG tanks, wherein each one of the intermodal LNG tanks is individually coupled to the vent system header for that stacking level of intermodal LNG tanks to vent LNG vapor from any of the one or more intermodal LNG tanks. 4. The marine vessel of claim 1, wherein boil-off gas from the one or more intermodal LNG tanks is provided to the boil-off gas control system. 5. The marine vessel of claim 4, further comprising engines that consume boil-off gas. 6. The marine vessel of claim 4, further comprising a gas combustor unit that consumes the boil-off gas. 7. The marine vessel of claim 4, wherein the boil-off gas is vented to the atmosphere. 8. The marine vessel of claim 1, wherein the boil-off gas control system reliquefies the boil-off gas. 9. The marine vessel of claim 8, wherein the reliquefied boil-off gas is returned to the one or more intermodal LNG tanks by the liquid transfer system header. 10. The marine vessel of claim 1, further comprising at least one manifold coupled to the liquid transfer system header for loading LNG onto the marine vessel. 11. The marine vessel of claim 1, further comprising at least one manifold coupled to the liquid transfer system header for unloading LNG from the marine vessel. 12. The marine vessel of claim 1, further comprising at least one tank for bulk storage of LNG. 13. The marine vessel of claim 12, wherein the at least one tank for bulk storage of LNG is connected to the one or more intermodal LNG tanks by the liquid transfer system header. 14. The marine vessel of claim 13, wherein LNG is transferred from the at least one tank for bulk storage to at least one of the intermodal LNG tanks. 15. The marine vessel of claim 12, wherein the at least one tank for bulk storage is located above the main deck of the marine vessel. 16. The marine vessel of claim 12, wherein the at least one tank for bulk storage is located below the main deck of the marine vessel. 17. The marine vessel of claim 1, further comprising a supporting structure secured above the main deck. 18. The marine vessel of claim 17, wherein the container cell guides are disposed on the supporting structure. 19. The marine vessel of claim 1, wherein the liquid transfer system comprises a plurality of control valves configured to selectively group the intermodal LNG tanks. 20. A method for transporting LNG intermodally, the method comprising: providing a plurality of intermodal LNG tanks on a main deck of a marine vessel;interconnecting the plurality of intermodal LNG tanks to a piping system;berthing the marine vessel at a first marine terminal that is equipped to load and unload a bulk quantity of LNG;filling the LNG tanks with LNG as if in a bulk mode at the first marine terminal;managing a pressure increase in the plurality of intermodal LNG tanks due to boil-off gas generated within the intermodal LNG tanks; andberthing the marine vessel at a second marine terminal, wherein the second marine terminal is equipped to either lift one or more individual intermodal LNG tanks off the marine vessel and transfer them to a component of an intermodal transportation system or unload the LNG contained in the intermodal LNG tanks in bulk. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the interconnecting step comprises the step of detachably securing the plurality of intermodal LNG tanks to the piping system. 22. The method of claim 20, wherein the interconnecting step comprises the step of interconnecting the plurality of intermodal LNG tanks so as to allow rapid connection and disconnection of the plurality of intermodal LNG tanks without the use of tools. 23. The method of claim 20, further comprising the steps of: detaching at least one of the plurality of intermodal LNG tanks from the piping system;lifting the at least one intermodal LNG tank; andtransferring the at least one intermodal LNG tank to the component of the intermodal transportation system. 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the component of the intermodal transportation system comprises a marine vessel. 25. The method of claim 23, wherein the component of the intermodal transportation system comprises a truck. 26. The method of claim 23, wherein the component of the intermodal transportation system comprises a rail car. 27. The method of claim 20, further comprising the steps of: loading at least one empty intermodal LNG tank onto the marine vessel; anddetachably connecting the at least one empty intermodal LNG tank to the piping system. 28. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of discharging LNG from the plurality of intermodal LNG tanks as if in a bulk mode. 29. The method of claim 20, wherein the second marine terminal is equipped with a crane to lift one or more individual intermodal LNG tanks off the marine vessel and transfer them to a component of an intermodal transportation system. 30. The method of claim 20, wherein the second marine terminal is equipped with a hose to unload the LNG contained in the intermodal LNG tanks in bulk. 31. The method of claim 20, wherein the second marine terminal is equipped with hard arms to unload the LNG contained in the intermodal LNG tanks in bulk. 32. The method of claim 31, wherein the hard arms comprise articulated hard arms. 33. A method for transporting bulk liquids intermodally, the method comprising: providing a plurality of ISO intermodal tanks on a main deck of a marine vessel;interconnecting the plurality of intermodal tanks to a piping system;berthing the marine vessel at a first marine terminal that is equipped to load and unload a bulk quantity of LNG;filling the plurality of ISO intermodal tanks with LNG as if in a bulk mode at the first marine terminal; andberthing the marine vessel at a second marine terminal, wherein the second marine terminal equipped to either lift one or more individual ISO intermodal tanks from the marine vessel and transfer them to a component of an intermodal transportation system or unload the LNG contained in the ISO intermodal tanks in bulk. 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the interconnecting step comprises the step of detachably securing the plurality of intermodal tanks to the piping system. 35. The method of claim 33, wherein the interconnecting step comprises the step of interconnecting the plurality of intermodal tanks so as to allow rapid connection and disconnection of the intermodal tanks without the use of tools. 36. The method of claim 33, further comprising the steps of: detaching at least one of the plurality of intermodal tanks from the piping system;lifting the at least one intermodal tank; andtransferring the at least one intermodal tank to the component of the intermodal transportation system. 37. The method of claim 36, wherein the component of the intermodal transportation system comprises a marine vessel. 38. The method of claim 36, wherein the component of the intermodal transportation system comprises a truck. 39. The method of claim 36, wherein the component of the intermodal transportation system comprises a rail car. 40. The method of claim 33, further comprising the steps of: loading at least one empty intermodal tank onto the marine vessel; anddetachably connecting the at least one empty intermodal tank to the piping system. 41. The method of claim 33, further comprising the step of discharging the bulk liquid from the intermodal tanks to a marine terminal as if in a bulk mode. 42. The method of claim 33, wherein the second marine terminal is equipped with a crane to lift one or more individual intermodal tanks off the marine vessel and transfer them to a component of an intermodal transportation system. 43. The method of claim 33, wherein the second marine terminal is equipped with a hose to unload the liquid contained in the intermodal tanks in bulk. 44. The method of claim 33, wherein the second marine terminal is equipped with hard arms to unload the liquid contained in the intermodal tanks in bulk. 45. The method of claim 44, wherein the hard arms comprise articulated hard arms. 46. A marine vessel, comprising: a main deck,one or more container cell guides secured to the main deck;one or more ISO intermodal tanks disposed in the container cell guides to form one or more stacking levels of intermodal tanks; anda liquid transfer system comprising a liquid transfer system header for each stacking level of intermodal tanks, wherein each one of the intermodal tanks in a stacking level of intermodal tanks is individually coupled to the liquid transfer system header for that stacking level of intermodal tanks;wherein the plurality of intermodal tanks can be filled with a bulk quantity of a liquid at a first facility and can be lifted off the marine vessel individually at a second facility. 47. The marine vessel of claim 46, wherein the plurality of intermodal tanks can be discharged as if in a bulk mode. 48. The marine vessel of claim 46, further comprising at least one tank for bulk storage of the bulk liquid. 49. The marine vessel of claim 48, wherein the one or more tanks for bulk storage of the bulk liquid are connected to the plurality of intermodal tanks by the liquid transfer system headers for each stacking level of intermodal tanks. 50. The marine vessel of claim 49, wherein the bulk liquid is transferred from the at least one tank for bulk storage to at least one of the plurality of intermodal tanks. 51. The marine vessel of claim 48, wherein the at least one tank for bulk storage is located above the main deck of the marine vessel. 52. The marine vessel of claim 48, wherein the at least one tank for bulk storage is located below the main deck of the marine vessel. 53. The marine vessel of claim 46, further comprising a supporting structure secured above the main deck. 54. The marine vessel of claim 53, wherein the container cell guides are disposed on the supporting structure. 55. The marine vessel of claim 46, wherein the liquid transfer system comprises a plurality of control valves configured to selectively group the intermodal tanks.
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