The safe use of cylindrical fenders on LNG, Oil and Container Terminals

Abstract

The PIANC ‘Guidelines for the design of fender systems’ MarCom report of WG 33 – 2002 specifies allowable maximum hull pressures for various vessels. Fender manufactures provide maximum hull pressures resulting from their fenders. The stated maximum hull pressures of cylindrical fenders exceed the recommended values by PIANC 2002 for gas carriers, oil tankers and container vessels. However, cylindrical fenders are in use for over 25 years in North West Europe on major container terminals without any complaints by masters, ship owners, pilots or any other stake holder. In the Hamburg – Le Havre range only the Port of Rotterdam Authority had, mid eighties, these fenders (Delta Terminal) checked against the old fender guidelines. After PIANC 2002 release all new projects are equipped with panels with cone fenders or similar. The maintenance department of the Port of Rotterdam has fairly bad experience with panel fenders as recently applied at the new container terminals and has quite positive experience with the ‘old’ cylindrical fenders. The positive user experience with cylinders and the negative maintenance experience with panels lead to plans with cylindrical fenders on an LNG berth and on six oil berths. The actual ship-fender interaction was investigated by FEM calculations as these cylindrical fenders do not match PIANC 2002 recommendations. The outcome of these FEM calculations is that cylindrical fenders can safely be used for both LNG carriers and oil tankers. This paper explains theseFEM calculations and the old calculations for the Delta Terminal and shows that cylindrical fenders can be used safely on liquid bulk terminals and gives a perspective for container terminals. The authors recommend that table 4.4.1 in PIANC 2002 will be updated.