Experts in marine loading technology, Woodfield, has been involved in LNG transfer technology since the 1970s, when the company developed LNG-specific swivels and piping systems in collaboration with leading industry partners. Fast-forward to now, the company has developed specific marine loading arm to handle LNG.
The innovation came about in 2001, when Woodfield was asked to support an LNG terminal operating in a particularly harsh environment, with very high berth occupancy. The customer had an existing LNG marine loading arm supplied by another manufacturer and needed a replacement solution that would improve reliability, reduce operational risk and perform consistently under demanding conditions.
The project required Woodfield to combine its long-standing experience in cryogenic swivels and piping systems with its established expertise in structurally supported marine loading arms. The resulting arm was designed, tested and installed as a joint project with the customer.
A key challenge was the management of thermal contraction during cooldown. At the time, slow cooldown procedures were common across the industry to control thermal stress in cryogenic pipework. Woodfield worked with a finite element analysis specialist to optimise the design and reduce the cooldown period, enabling the terminal to begin LNG transfer sooner after vessel connection.
The first arm was installed in 2001 and performed successfully in service. On the strength of that performance, the customer ordered a further three LNG marine loading arms in 2003. The equipment has remained in operation with very limited maintenance and little to no downtime, demonstrating the long-term reliability of the design.
More recently, the customer proactively ordered four replacement arms from Woodfield’s manufacturing facility in India. While the original arms were still working reliably, the terminal wanted to avoid future disruption by replacing the arms early, refurbishing the originals offline, and then retaining them as future-ready assets. This project demonstrates the value of designing LNG loading systems for long service life, maintainability and operational continuity.
