Nautical risk assessment for lng operations at the port of koper

Abstract

Construction of an LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) terminal by TGE (TGE Gas Engineering GmbH) is currently planned to be located along the Slovenian coast near the city of Koper. Two other LNG terminals are also plannedl: one in the Trieste port and the other off shore in Trieste Bay in Italy. Focusing on nautical operations, the purpose of this paper is to identify potential risks and to assess their levels as consequences of increased LNG activities. The ports in the area are host to a variety of vessels, including containers, tankers and chemical carriers, general cargo vessels, passenger ferries, bulk carriers, ro-ro carriers, etc.; and a large number of recreational and fishing vessels can be located on the navigational line towards ports located in Trieste bay. There are around 2500 vessels calling at the Port of Koper a year and approximately the same number at the Port of Trieste as well as a few hundred more nearby at the Port of Monfalcone. Using a quantitative approach, collision and grounding risk assessment will be analyzed for the shipping situation in the area, obtained through AIS (Automatic Identification System). © 2012 Journal of Mechanical Engineering.