“We use the lab to simulate the experience of what it will be like to load and discharge LNG,” said Second Officer Ny’Eshia Murray ’12, an assistant professor of practice. “Cadets learn how to use the ship’s ballast tanks because any time you are loading, you have to discharge the ballast and any time you are unloading, you have to fill the ballast by putting water onto the ship to maintain stability.”
There are other safety risks inherent in transporting LNG, which must be kept at a temperature of
-163 degrees Centigrade to reduce its volume for storage and transport. “This substance is highly flammable so if a holding tank cracked, it would cause a major freeze. But if it gets too hot, it can spontaneously explode,” Murray said. “You have to constantly monitor it when you’re on the ship with it and when you transfer from one destination to the next.”
Cadets have valued participating in simulation scenarios. “Without access to the simulation lab, I would’ve had no background experience to refer to when speaking with mooring masters during lightering operations and understanding what stage of the operation we were in,” said Ryan Perry ’27. “The tanker simulator allowed me to understand the process behind transferring, loading and unloading liquid cargos and opening and closing valves while simultaneously loading or unloading ballast. It’s a fantastic simulation of the process that mates overseeing these real-life operations go through while standing a cargo watch.”
Now currently sailing with AET Offshore as a 2nd Class Junior Cadet, Perry is putting this knowledge into practice. “Because of my previous knowledge from the tanker simulator, I was able to dictate the stage of the tanker’s operation by speaking with captains and mooring masters while on a logistics support vessel, which allowed my captain and the other mates with me to schedule the exact time we needed to be alongside the tanker in order to start our lightering operation,” he said.
Channels of Distribution
Founded in Houston in 1994, AET is a leading global owner and operator of crude and petroleum tankers committed to moving energy responsibly and eco-efficiently. Its current fleet of over 60 vessels includes 11 LNG dual-fuel assets: four Aframax tankers operating in the Atlantic and Pacific regions, two dynamic positioning shuttle tankers (DPSTs) operating in the North and Barents Seas, and five very large crude carriers (VLCCs) operating globally. Its commercial and operational offices span the globe, including Singapore, Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, Brazil and Uruguay. The company is also the predominant lightering company in the U.S. Gulf with a workboat fleet operating out of Galveston along with operations in Uruguay and Brazil.
