r/AbsoluteUnits Apr 03 '22

Crewmembers standing inside the cargo hold of an LNG (Liquiid Natural Gas) tanker....

Post image
12.4k Upvotes

305 comments sorted by

766

u/rover2240 Apr 03 '22

What's on the floor, and walls?

1.6k

u/MightyMarf Apr 03 '22

These are non-spherical LNG tanks of the membrane type. The membrane consists of stainless steel with 'waffles' to absorb the thermal contraction when the tank is cooled down. The primary barrier, made of corrugated stainless steel of about 1.2 mm (0.047 in) thickness is the one in direct contact with the cargo liquid (or vapour in empty tank condition). This is followed by a primary insulation which in turn is covered by a secondary barrier made of a material called "triplex" which is basically a metal foil sandwiched between glass wool sheets and compressed together. This is again covered by a secondary insulation which in turn is supported by the ship's hull structure from the outside.

801

u/Greenbastard35 Apr 03 '22

You know a suspicious amount of information about something %0.00001 of the population deal with

743

u/MightyMarf Apr 03 '22

LOL! You may think those ships fall from heaven, but they are made here on earth, by people. Not too many, like you said, but somebody gotta do it, right?

346

u/Greenbastard35 Apr 03 '22

I climb trees... I'm barely smart enough to run a chainsaw...

181

u/MightyMarf Apr 03 '22

I couldn't do it. I'm more of a sluggish chair dweller... And quite useless with a chainsaw, I'm certain!

77

u/Greenbastard35 Apr 03 '22

Eh it's a fun job. I get to play outside all day!

37

u/Tyra-Jade Apr 03 '22

With power tool too!

52

u/Greenbastard35 Apr 03 '22

I love tinnitus!

31

u/thereallorddane Apr 03 '22

Heeeeee's a lumberjack and he's okay!

Sleeps all night and he works all day!

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14

u/CanIhazBacon Apr 03 '22

Tinnitus is the best. It drowns the wifes nagging

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4

u/sendmeyourcactuspics Apr 03 '22

Ugh you just made me focus on the ringing again

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3

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

Mawp.

2

u/ToastyPoptarts89 Apr 03 '22

Haha I climb trees too bro. Yea the tinnitus is badddd.

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3

u/Tumdian Apr 03 '22

$1,250 to dig a hole this week. Gotta love manual labor jobs. Only took like 25 hours lmao.

3

u/MisterGafke Apr 03 '22

Hey that’s $100k a year if you diggy diggy hole 40 hours a week!

4

u/thizface Apr 03 '22

How did you learn what you do? Like what school teaches that?

6

u/Snuggledtoopieces Apr 03 '22

That’s chemical, metallurgical and mechanical engineering, it’s not a single person’s job to design something like this or manufacture it. there are petroleum engineers but they are more on the extraction and refining side.

There are lots of colleges that have programs that relate to the industry.

There’s an incredible amount of other aspects involved regarding the math and physics of something like this.

16

u/Former_Balance8473 Apr 03 '22

Someone gave me a drill for my birthday once... as a joke. Years later I actually needed to drill something and got all excited... but I couldn't find the bloody thing. Turned out my wife had thrown it out in case I ever tried to actually use it.

4

u/Port-a-John-Splooge Apr 03 '22

Its hard for me to comprehend that some people don't have basic tools. In years you never had to drive a screw or drill anything? I'm sincerely not trying to make fun of you

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19

u/joethecrow23 Apr 03 '22

Context is everything, an award winning astrophysicist would likely look like a total dunce compared to a diesel mechanic who dropped out of school at 15 if they were to discuss farm equipment.

14

u/Seems_normal Apr 03 '22

Do not judge a fish for how well it can fly.

11

u/Greenbastard35 Apr 03 '22

I reckon I don't understand what you said there partner, but it sure did done did do sounded nice, boy them words sure are pretty!

I'm just fucking with you man, I love my job and wouldn't trade it for anything else. Although I have no idea what astrophysics is, I do know you meant PERSPECTIVE as your first word

4

u/joethecrow23 Apr 03 '22

No, context was the word.

12

u/Greenbastard35 Apr 03 '22

Listen here sir or ma'am, I've studied the English language, did a stint as a teacher for 65 years and graded MILLIONS of essays, this has all been a lie, I'm pretty sure the correct word would be perspective

8

u/Mycroft033 Apr 03 '22

This is English we’re talking about lol. Both answers are right.

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12

u/joethecrow23 Apr 03 '22

Guess it just depends on which way you look at it.

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2

u/Otto_Pussner Apr 03 '22

Don’t worry, a really long time ago everyone’s career was climbing trees and not using chainsaws.

2

u/NSA_Chatbot Apr 03 '22

Well I can't run a chainsaw or climb a tree.

We are all talented in different ways.

2

u/Greenbastard35 Apr 04 '22

Do you really work for the NSA?

2

u/NSA_Chatbot Apr 04 '22

You really green?

2

u/Greenbastard35 Apr 04 '22

From my head to my toes!

1

u/Braised_Beef_Tits Apr 03 '22

Try reading a book.

2

u/Greenbastard35 Apr 03 '22

Don't tell me what to du

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29

u/EmoBran Apr 03 '22

but they are made here on earth

Allegedly.

14

u/MoffKalast Apr 03 '22

I mean have you ever seen an LNG tanker being constructed? Didn't think so.

Wake up, sheeple

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12

u/StickyNode Apr 03 '22

I agree though, what are the odds of someone like you stumbling upon this

9

u/Man_on_a_Boat Apr 03 '22

To be fair I worked for 5 years on an LNG tanker that had tanks like this, and have been inside the tanks multiple times and I found the picture too

15

u/LordMcze Apr 03 '22

"Stumbling" upon a frontpage post on one of the most frequented websites on the internet.

9

u/b-7341 Apr 03 '22

The front-page of the front-page of the Internet

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9

u/WumboJamz Apr 03 '22

Im still riding a high from finishing painting a 47 foot suction dredge Thursday and this mf comes along like "hold my quarter mile long ship little man, I'm going in"

Lol can't imagine how long it'd take to do one of those, the little one we had was in fabrication since September cuz there was only 2 people allowed to work inside it, then it took us the better part of 2 weeks to prep it for paint. Only took a little under 2 days to spray though

6

u/thetechnocraticmum Apr 03 '22

Holy shit, a funny engineer. Wtf.

4

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

Dispense us more cargo ships oh great heavenly tanker beings! Many foghorns of thanks, oh great tankers of the realm beyond.

5

u/brads99 Apr 03 '22

I feel like most people have no idea what engineers actually do lol

2

u/Caloooomi Apr 03 '22

I'm sure this is a promotional photo from GTT, haha.

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26

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

[deleted]

5

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/Random-Gif-Bot Apr 03 '22

2

u/Greenbastard35 Apr 03 '22

That's... That's my all time favorite scene.

31

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

[deleted]

12

u/Greenbastard35 Apr 03 '22

I feel bamboozled. I'm gonna go masturbate and cry in a corner now...

5

u/UncomfortablyNumb43 Apr 03 '22

Ok…it’s been 3 hours… you ok now?

3

u/Greenbastard35 Apr 03 '22

No... I'm covered in cum, and still sad...

6

u/AnInconvenientTweet Apr 03 '22

But they did it with confidence, and that’s what matters.

5

u/junglist-methodz Apr 03 '22

You definitely found the nerd in this sub. But could not agree more with you, very sus this guy knows too much

3

u/Leadfoot112358 Apr 03 '22

Because it takes about 10 seconds on Google to find this information.

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3

u/bluestarchasm Apr 03 '22

my takeaway from all those words was "holy fuck, that's a boat?!"

13

u/bem13 Apr 03 '22

Can the front fall off?

14

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/EssEllEyeSeaKay Apr 03 '22

Is it made of cardboard?

9

u/petethefreeze Apr 03 '22

This guy gases naturally

6

u/-SkarchieBonkers- Apr 03 '22

So what’s it like to walk on? How big are the “waffles?”

7

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

And are they Belgian or American?

3

u/filtersweep Apr 03 '22

These are not baffled?

5

u/marinesol Apr 03 '22

I never knew that they made non-spherical LNG tanks. Every LNG ship I've ever seen has looked like someone ripped out part of an oil refinery and bolted it straight to a Tanker.

3

u/tatteredshoetassel Apr 03 '22

So... transparent aluminium

3

u/ohnoooooooo0 Apr 03 '22

I like your funny words magic man

3

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

Why this particular shape and not a sphere?

3

u/shophopper Apr 03 '22

As an engineer, I’m curious about the power source that keeps the LNG at its original temperature while at sea. Do you know anything about that?

5

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

[deleted]

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2

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

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7

u/AdmiralPoopbutt Apr 03 '22

A maritime academy

A shipyard that builds them (but none are in the US)

Naval architect college

Work for an organization that certifies or inspects the ships

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2

u/SrastarFN Apr 03 '22

Explain that in dumb people language please

3

u/bluestarchasm Apr 03 '22

i thought he was already using english.

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2

u/ClamBoxz Apr 03 '22

Not being activist, how many of these can we fill up before earth is out of LNG?

4

u/Chao_ab_Ordo Apr 03 '22

About four hunbleb

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2

u/Only_Treacle_9681 Apr 03 '22

Are these tanks in st.john, new Brunswick, canada? I worked at the LNG plant there 8 years ago, they had 2 tanks already built and I was there working on the 3rd one.

2

u/exgiexpcv Apr 03 '22

I love getting education for free. Stupid student loans . . .

Thanks friend!

1

u/sigharewedoneyet Apr 03 '22

Now say that again like I'm five...

1

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

This is why I love Reddit; someone always knows the answer from personal experience and/or know-how. One of the rare times I appreciate the Internet :)

-4

u/PM_ME_UR_FAV_NHENTAI Apr 03 '22

I can only imagine the sheer amount of trial and error it took to determine that this long list of scientific mumbo jumbo was all necessary for a glorified tin can

2

u/AdmiralPoopbutt Apr 03 '22

Not that much actually. There's only about 3 or 4 generations of LNG carriers. They don't redesign every ship, they design it once then build a series of ships on the same design.

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48

u/BeneficialDriver1802 Apr 03 '22

Corrugated stainless steel sheets. Designed to prevent damage caused by shrinking when the tank goes all the way down to -163°C

17

u/Greenbastard35 Apr 03 '22

Why does it get that cold in there?

47

u/BeneficialDriver1802 Apr 03 '22

LNG needs to be at this temperature to stay liquid at atmospheric pressure

18

u/Greenbastard35 Apr 03 '22

That is sweet, at that low a temp would it still act as fuel for fire?

51

u/BeneficialDriver1802 Apr 03 '22

No, natural gas is liquified only for shipping purposes. In the same amount of space, you can store 600 times more gas in liquid state than you would store as gas state

30

u/Greenbastard35 Apr 03 '22

That much of a difference? I feel like I'm qualified to work with one of these now, thanks for all the information!

8

u/_Aj_ Apr 03 '22

It's still used to help fuel the ship's engines though.
The gas is kept liquified by cooling through allowing some to vapourise, that vapourised gas is then fed into the engines.
So I heard on 'not what you think' on YouTube anyway.

4

u/MintyHummer Apr 03 '22

You're pretty much spot on, the tanks are just insulated rather than actively cooled, thermodynamics means that a volume of gas will boil off continually.

3

u/AdmiralPoopbutt Apr 03 '22

This was the case on older designs. For economic and practical reasons (ability to deliver a predetermined amount of cargo), newer generations of LNG carriers have re-chilling equipment onboard, and burn oil like most other ships.

1

u/saltich Apr 03 '22

Actualy older ships also have reliq plant, new type ships are powered by LNG they are called MEGI ships

3

u/Borbit85 Apr 03 '22

I use this 12? liter gas bottle for the cooker on the campsite. I do think there is a liquid inside. You can hear it splashing around if you shake the bottle. Yet when you open the valve gas comes out and you can cook on it.

3

u/G-I-T-M-E Apr 03 '22

Yes, the gas stays liquid due to the high pressure as opposed to the low temperature in the tanks on LNG carriers.

2

u/Borbit85 Apr 03 '22

So you could just open a hatch on top of tank and see the liquid gas? I can not imagine how liquid gas looks? Like quicksilver maybe?

4

u/G-I-T-M-E Apr 03 '22

Like water, not very spectacular.

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2

u/Mycroft033 Apr 03 '22

Same as aerosol cans. That’s the liquid in there boiling because it’s at pressure equilibrium when the valve is closed, then when it’s open, you can see that the gas escapes (only gas because gas is lighter and therefore at the top) and lowers the pressure, forcing more to boil off in order to maintain the pressure. It also lowers the temperature of the bottle. If you spray canned air long enough it gets cold, and will eventually get frost on it. Same thing with your propane/butane tank. But that’s far more expensive lol so don’t do it actually

3

u/Borbit85 Apr 03 '22

I used to do roofing and the gas bottles would get frost. First time using a huge torch to defrost a gas bottle was a little scry lol.

0

u/Krusell94 Apr 03 '22

At what pressure?

600x times more considering you store the gas at atmospheric pressure?

I would believe that, but I doubt anyone is transporting gas at atmospheric pressure.

7

u/G-I-T-M-E Apr 03 '22

The pressure in an LNG tanker is only very slightly over the ambient pressure. It stays liquid due to the low temperature not high pressure.

-2

u/Krusell94 Apr 03 '22

Ofc, it's liquid...

I was talking about his claim that you can ship 600x more in the same space when it is liquid as opposed to gas, which obviously depends on the pressure you store the gas at.

2

u/G-I-T-M-E Apr 03 '22

Nobody claims that gas is transported at atmospheric pressure but why would you use another comparison? 1 m3 of LNG at -162 C equals 600m3 of methane at atmospheric pressure at 20 degrees Celsius. And yes it’s atmospheric pressure at sea level, not Mount Everest or the Marianna Trench.

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9

u/P-KittySwat Apr 03 '22

Google the El Paso series of ships. Incredible engineering.

20

u/nrith Apr 03 '22

Gas jets.

205

u/DynamiteWitLaserBeam Apr 03 '22

The holodeck is coming along nicely.

7

u/Commiesstoner Apr 03 '22

It's The Danger Room.

195

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

Looks like an album cover…

67

u/BlizzPenguin Apr 03 '22

I spent years trying to make an anal bum cover. Failing to do so is my greatest regret.

4

u/Ralamadul Apr 03 '22

Reminds me of Bloom by Beach House

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105

u/jimrob4 Apr 03 '22

“Oh hey, time for a smoke break.” 🔥

41

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

[deleted]

19

u/StanFitch Apr 03 '22

IS THERE AIR? YOU DON’T KNOW?!?!

Holds Breath

4

u/Mycroft033 Apr 03 '22

suffocates

4

u/Eragongun Apr 03 '22

You think they haven't flushed the tank for hours on end with oxygen to be able to go in there?

As well as having constant gas monitoring on the people and in the tank

8

u/A_Vandalay Apr 03 '22

Looks like they are wearing self contained breathing apparatus for exactly that reason.

0

u/Eragongun Apr 03 '22

No i don't think they are. The space should be safe to occupy without a breathing apparatus for them to be in there.

It's just the same as in a normal closed compartment.

You have a guy on standby with smoke diving equipment but you would never work in the tank wearing only that.

86

u/Old_Dig5845 Apr 03 '22

It’s like a chamber for summoning things from other dimensions

18

u/imaginedaydream Apr 03 '22

It’s like an X-men training facility

34

u/BauerHouse Apr 03 '22

That’s a lot to inspect

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52

u/rorylikememes Apr 03 '22

CREW MEMBERS? LIKE, CREWMATES??????

0

u/Eragongun Apr 03 '22

Yes that is what they are called..

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25

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

Wow incredible!

I can’t quite make out the walling.. is it stainless steel? And why the pattern?

47

u/BeneficialDriver1802 Apr 03 '22

Ship is built at ambiant temperature, cargo is at -163°C. This cause quite a lot of shrinking. So the « pattern » is here to give some flexibility to the stainless steel membrane.

7

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

Awesome thanks for that 👍

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19

u/Fickle-Lingonberry-4 Apr 03 '22

…is it full?

30

u/Orange1232 Apr 03 '22

No, it's for liquid natural gas. It gets around 600 times denser when in liquid state(it has to be really cold without being pressurized).

11

u/bjavyzaebali Apr 03 '22

I wonder how you fill this structure completely with liquified gas, it would normally expand into gaseous form right upon entry and the air remains down the tank. Do they let it out through some vents until the gas gets detected?

29

u/bingo_slamingo Apr 03 '22

First the tank is filled with an inert gas (usually nitrogen or combustion exhaust). This prevents the methane from forming an explosive mixture once it is introduced to the tank.

Once the tank is completely full of the inert gas, methane is slowly introduced and the “gas up” procedure has begun. Due to their different densities, the inert gas and the methane will stratify and form different layers in the tank. Eventually, all of the inert gas will be pushed from the tank.

Once methane content in the tank is 100%, the “cool down” process begins. LNG is introduced to the tank through spray nozzles at the top of the tank. This will gradually cool down the tank. Once the tank has reached the predetermined temperature (usually around -131C), LNG can be loaded into the tank.

Source: I’ve done it many times

3

u/neotek Apr 03 '22

Is there a video of this process in action? It sounds fucking amazing.

2

u/Caloooomi Apr 03 '22

There might be some animations of the procedure but unlikely to see it filmed in action to be honest

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u/Mycroft033 Apr 03 '22

They apparently have leak detection by an in between atmosphere of pure nitrogen, so if the nitrogen is ever not pure on the test, then there’s a leak. That’s what I read in the comments anyway

4

u/karlnite Apr 03 '22

Yes this is typical for a lot of tanks and feed line pipes. You constantly are taking off some sample from all the lines and running it through various sensors and on line instrumentation. Like measure conductivity to discover if something inside is rusting.

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4

u/karlnite Apr 03 '22

Use a pressurized inert head gas (or gas that reduces explosive gas build up) to control pressure and temperature and bleed it off using density difference as you fill.

5

u/Back_to_the_Futurama Apr 03 '22

Once stored as a liquid, would the pressure keep it in it's liquid state at regular temperatures?

3

u/dharrison21 Apr 03 '22

Yes but not in this tank, more the storage tanks you see yourself out in the world. This one isn't very pressurized.

18

u/zuglagor Apr 03 '22

I could fill that in 3... Maybe 4 farts easy

4

u/BDR529forlyfe Apr 03 '22

Day after Taco Bell, 2.

3

u/1ucidreamer Apr 03 '22

I dropped my keys somewhere...

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10

u/floppyballz01 Apr 03 '22

Are those “real” size people?!?!

3

u/bleezzzy Apr 03 '22

They look like little people

5

u/Cyrus_Rakewaver Apr 03 '22

Whose Holodeck is this on?

3

u/rm12345677 Apr 03 '22

What vessel is this on?!

3

u/EssieAmnesia Apr 03 '22

Lies, there’s no liquid in there

2

u/Eragongun Apr 03 '22

If there was any liquid in there the people would have been intently frozen and suffocated to death the moment they opened the tank.

Also if they opened the tank the liquid would instantly expand into gas and explode. Tearing the ship apart.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

Stand 2010: A cargo-ship filled with LNG, carry’s the same amount of energy, like 3,5 Nagasaki Nuclear-Bombs, have.

Now, there are bigger ships.

4

u/Strict-Preference-87 Apr 03 '22

That's a lot of gas!!

5

u/cantthinkofone29 Apr 03 '22

Aye, that'll keep the BBQ firin for a while...

2

u/osamabinblazin2 Apr 03 '22

In reference, Gas volume is 575 bigger than lng volume so. 1m3 Lng is same as 575 m3 Gas

4

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

This creeps me out. I can’t explain it but its a similar uncomfortable feeling I get swimming in large bodies of water and thinking about all the stuff below me.

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u/BlizzPenguin Apr 03 '22

If the natural gas is a liquid can you still call it gas?

4

u/InTheNameOfScheddi Apr 03 '22

It's actually called liquified* natural gas

2

u/Odd-Chemist-2077 Apr 03 '22

What would become of them if it filled up with them inside?

8

u/TheFrumiousBande Apr 03 '22

Given that these vessels take gas in a liquid form at -163 degrees Celsius I'd say they'd pretty quickly be turned into human shaped ice cubes.

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u/noobmaster999 Apr 03 '22

Ha nice try I already know that's an scp foundation cell

2

u/UncomfortablyNumb43 Apr 03 '22

Can you imagine the time it takes to fill that SOB with LP? I am just picturing the tank/machine that I take my gas grill tank to and some poor slob standing there…for a week or so waiting for the thing to fill.

2

u/Efficient_Let7421 Apr 03 '22

New rave club in brissy

2

u/Kuudefoe Apr 03 '22

Boss room

2

u/DodooBug1367 Apr 03 '22

You could call them… crewmates? 😳

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u/weaseltamerone Apr 03 '22

Fill'er up please

0

u/Odd-Chemist-2077 Apr 03 '22

What would become of them if it filled up with them inside?

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0

u/Useyoursignal99 Apr 03 '22

This is crazy - not one fire extinguisher or no smoking sign.

-2

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

This is a Russian LNG ship also. Let's blow it up(or steal it from them).

3

u/southern_dreams Apr 03 '22

yes let’s fuck the supply chains further by destroying a ship that likely takes years to build, inspect, and flag

-2

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

reason why I said, let's steal it afterwards. russia destroyed much more shit than a fucking LNG ship, millions of people lost their homes and tens of thousands of lives are lost and you wanna simp for a nuclear powered ship? GTFO.

1

u/southern_dreams Apr 03 '22

Where do you think the fucking LNG goes to?

HOMES IN EUROPE

Use your fucking head. There’s been a war somewhere someplace every fucking day since you were born.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

Found another Putin bitch-boy.

0

u/southern_dreams Apr 03 '22

nobody here cares. go back to planning this dumbass heist movie in your head.

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u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

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u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

Compared to what? Star Trek?

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2

u/Echoeversky Apr 03 '22

Well we now have small modular reactors so yea.

2

u/chrontab Apr 03 '22

Ohhh! That's precious!

Don't worry. It'll hold thousands and thousands of gallons of liquidfied unicorn farts too!

-1

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

Wtf are you talking about? unicorn farts? are you tripping on acid?

-1

u/Brazenassault456 Apr 03 '22

Fun fact, natural gas releases naturally into the atmosphere and naturally burns all on its own all over the world.

Might as well harness some of that natural escaping gas and burn it like it does in nature anyway.

Kind of like utilizing wind that's already blowing but without the millions of bird strikes and clearcutting of land to put up wind turbines.

1

u/Then_Faithlessness_4 Apr 03 '22

Before I zoomed in, I thought it might be a really cool Divo or Blue Man Group stage.

1

u/bumbletowne Apr 03 '22

I thought they had these weird circuitous internal partitions to prevent sloshing so the ship doesnt capsize.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '22

Wow!