0. July, 1974
5,000 M3 Barge Massachusetts
LNG was being loaded on the barge on July 16, 1974. After a power failure
and the automatic closure of the main liquid line valves, a small amount of
LNG leaked from a 1-inch nitrogen-purge globe valve on the vessel’s liquid
header. The subsequent investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard found that a
pressure surge caused by the valve closure induced the leakage of LNG
through the bonnet and gland of the 1-inch valve. The valve had not leaked
during the previous seven or more hours of loading. Several fractures
occurred in the deck plates where contacted by the LNG spill. They extended
over an area that measured about one by two meters. The amount of LNG
involved in the leakage was reported to be about 40 gallons. As a result of
this incident,