Manufacturing line/Cargo vessels/LNG carrier
Autonomous · Cargo vessels

LNG carrier

Four membrane tanks of gas at −162 °C, powered by the gas it would otherwise lose.

Phase 7 · 2033+Concept design
Capacity
174,000 m³
Cargo temp.
−162 °C
Fuel burn
≈ 4.6 t gas / hr
Crew
0
I · Blueprint
Side elevation, live systems
DWLForepeakballastLNG −162 °CLOA 299 mCargo block · 4 membrane tanks · 174,000 m³Boil-off ≈ 0.07 %/day → fuel020910081314151803050711161701040612SECTION A–A · NO. 2 TANK, LOOKING FORWARDDWLBLNG −162 °CLiquid headerTrunk deckInner hullPU foam insulationTriplex secondaryWing ballast tankDouble bottomVapour header → boil-offTank domePipe towerPrimary membrane (corrugated stainless)Submerged cargo pumpsManifold crossover (beyond)Beam 46.4 mDETAIL B · MEMBRANE WALLCorrugated-membrane type · layers not to scaleLNG −162 °Cballast sidePrimary barrier · corrugatedstainless steel, ~1.2 mmReinforced PU foamTriplex secondary barrierReinforced PU foamInner hullC · BOIL-OFF HANDLINGCargo tanks ×4−162 °CBOG compressorsGas turbine-generators2 × 20 MWReliquefactionsurplus onlyGas combustionunit · last resortElectric driveshaft ≈ 27 MW at 19.5 knLNG backvapourfuel gas≈ 4.6 t gas / hr at 19.5 kn
01Propeller & rudderPropulsion
02Sensor mast & autonomy core — no bridge, zero crewStructure
03Boil-off gas turbine-generators, 2 × 20 MWPower
04Shaft line, thrust & plummer bearings, stern tubePropulsion
05Power electronics & 3 MWh battery bufferPower
06Permanent-magnet propulsion motorPropulsion
07Reliquefaction plantPower
08Membrane cargo tanks — LNG at −162 °CCargo
09PU foam insulation, triplex secondary barrier & trunk deckStructure
10Hull, double bottom & cofferdam bulkheadsStructure
11Vapour header — boil-off gas recovery linePower
12Bow thrusterPropulsion
13Cargo manifold — liquid & vapour connectionsCargo
14Liquid header on the pipe rackCargo
15Pipe towers & submerged cargo pumpsCargo
16BOG compressor housePower
17Gas combustion unitPower
18Vent mastCargo
II · Power & drivetrain

It runs on the cargo that escapes.

LNG warms and boils off in transit. Instead of venting or reliquefying all of it, the ship routes boil-off gas to turbine-generators that drive electric motors, and reliquefies only the surplus.

Boil-off gas turbine plant — rotating view
Boil-off gas from the tanks (left) feeds two 20 MW aeroderivative gas turbines: six compressor stages, a ring of combustor cans and three turbine stages spin on each shaft, driving the generators. Their exhaust raises steam in the heat-recovery boiler above for a 10 MW steam turbo-generator; the bus feeds the propulsion motor below.
01Gas-turbine generators — 2 × 20 MW, aeroderivative, 3,600 rpm
02Compressor — 6 stages per turbine, 18:1
03Combustor — 6 cans, fuel gas at 40 bar
04Turbine — 3 stages, exhaust ≈ 500 °C
05Heat-recovery steam generator — one for both exhausts
06Steam turbo-generator — 10 MW, 3 stages
07Fuel gas — natural boil-off plus forced vaporiser, 4.6 t/hr at 19.5 kn
08Propulsion motor — 27 MW at 19.5 kn, single shaft
Propeller — 5 blades
Power plant · IC design2 × 20 MW gas-turbine generators, heat recovery
Shaft output≈ 27 MW at 19.5 kn
FuelBoil-off gas from cargo
Consumption≈ 4.6 t gas / hr at 19.5 kn
Metal content≈ 84% of lightship
Naked drivetrain — energy to motion
III · How it is put together

Built in blocks, joined, then brought to life.

Blocks are fabricated in parallel, joined in sequence, and the power module and autonomy core go in last. The loop below replays the build order.

POWER MODULE
I
Keel & double-bottom blocks
II
Hull blocks joined in dry dock
III
Power module lowered in
IV
Sensor mast & autonomy core fitted
V
Unmanned sea trials
IV · Specification

Concept specification.

Design specification for the autonomous LNG carrier.

Length overall
299 m
Beam
46.4 m
Cargo capacity
174,000 m³
Tanks
4 × membrane, corrugated stainless primary
Cargo temperature
−162 °C
Boil-off rate
0.07 % / day
Power plant · IC design
2 × 20 MW gas-turbine generators, heat recovery
Fuel
Boil-off gas from cargo
Consumption
≈ 4.6 t gas / hr at 19.5 kn
Service speed
19.5 kn
Installed power
40 MW turbines + 10 MW steam
Plant efficiency
50% combined, gas to bus
Shaft output
≈ 27 MW at 19.5 kn
Metal content
≈ 84% of lightship
Crew
0 — fully autonomous
Onboard compute
Four AI modules; one of them minds the cargo
Modules4 AI modules (navigation; perception forward; perception aft; cargo & plant — boil-off, tank pressure, turbines) + 2 certified safety controllers
CPU64 cores (4 × 16) + 4 lockstep real-time cores per module
AI throughput20,000 TOPS total (4 × 5,000, INT8 / FP4 sparse)
Memory4 × 128 GB LPDDR6, 600 GB/s per module; 8 TB solid-state voyage log
Power draw400 W compute; ≈ 1.2 kW with 24 cameras, 4 lidars and 3 radars — 0.004% of the 32 MWe drawn at 19.5 kn
Process node2 nm-class SoCs; safety controllers on a mature 16 nm node, 15-year supply
RedundancyEvery sensor is wired to two modules. Each module is primary for its zone and hot standby for its pair: navigation with cargo and plant, perception forward with perception aft. Any one module can bring the ship to a safe drift or anchorage. Two independent SIL 3 safety controllers hold the plant trip, cargo emergency shutdown, steering and shaft interlocks.
Sensors24 cameras (visible and thermal) aggregated over automotive Ethernet through camera switches into the modules, 4 lidars for berthing, 3 radars, AIS, echo sounder, gas detection on every deck, 1,800 cargo and plant sensors
LinkLow-orbit satellite at sea (plan updates each minute; the planning model runs aboard); fibre and private 5G in port
Service lifeCompute is a line-replaceable unit, swapped at mid-life in the year-20 dry-docking; the hull runs 40 years
The cargo-and-plant module balances boil-off against speed: it decides each hour whether to burn, reliquefy or run faster so that the tanks arrive at the right pressure. The planning model sails aboard for when the satellite link is thin. Every command passes from the ship agent through the certified safety channel to the drives, and the propulsion drive closes its own current loop every 1 ms. A software fault can never drive the ship outside its certified safe envelope: two SIL 3 controllers hold the plant trip, the cargo emergency shutdown, steering and shaft on their own sensors (shaft and rudder encoders, tank pressure transmitters, gas detectors, a safety-rated radar).
Today vs IC
Propulsion: today’s LNG carrier beside the IC design
Today · twin-screw LNG carrierIC design
Engines2 × two-stroke dual-fuel diesels (low- or high-pressure gas injection); the largest class carries 2 × 21,770 kW2 × 20 MW gas-turbine generators with a 10 MW heat-recovery steam turbine, 50% combined
DriveDirect: 2 shafts → 2 fixed-pitch propellers (twin screw)Electric drive: 27 MW motor → 1 propeller (single screw)
Boil-off gasBurned in the engines. The surplus goes to reliquefaction or a gas combustion unitFeeds the turbine-generators. Only the surplus is reliquefied
Boil-off rate0.085 %/day on the newest 175,000 m³ ships0.07 %/day
Fuel burn100–120 t of gas a day for a 200,000 m³ ship at 20 kn≈ 4.6 t of gas an hour (≈ 110 t a day) at 19.5 kn
Crew30 on the largest class0. Supervised from shore through The Brain
The IC column is the design shown on this page. Sources for the Today column are listed in BUILD_NOTES.md.
Runs on The Brain
Every movement of this machine is planned by The Brain’s orchestration layer, mirrored in the port’s digital twin, and re-planned the moment reality drifts.
See how it works →
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