Engineers from Severn Glocon Technologies have visited Korea to commission a High Integrity Pressure Protection System (HIPPS) supplied to shipbuilder DSME for a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU).
The LNG FSRU vessel, BW Magna, has a capacity of 173,400 cubic metres. The HIPPS has been integrated and installed by Severn Glocon Technologies to protect the pipeline during the unloading of gas, enhancing safety for the FSRU and the downstream equipment and pipeline in the docking terminals it connects with.
HIPPS are not mandatory on FSRUs, but it’s increasingly recognised that they provide a superior level of safety and reliability. Situated between high-pressure upstream and low-pressure downstream units, they contain media if over-pressurisation is likely to occur, rather than venting.
The system supplied to DSME operates at a working pressure of 117 barg. It comprises two 18” 900-class manual valves, a Sella Controls logic solver and three pressure transmitters.
Site Manager Tim Blake says HIPPS integration and installation requires a wide range of engineering and functional safety expertise. “Effective HIPPS integration demands electronic and mechanical engineering skills, with software engineering input sometimes needed as well,” he explained. “It’s important that these specialist engineers interrogate the design brief and collaborate with functional safety professionals. This is where using an independent integrator offers a major advantage. At Severn, we employ all of these professionals in-house.”
Additional safety measures on the FSRU include alarms, a shutdown system, blow down system and safety valves, as per industry-specified standards. The benefit of adding HIPPS is that it is a simple, proven solution which can operate independently of the wider vessel system.
