[thackney]

LNG doesn’t burn or explode. It has to vaporize first and dilute to 5~15% concentration with air. At that concentration it will have warmed and risen given the low specific gravity of methane.

[stockpirate]

So if they pulled it in to a harbor, opened all the valves and waited an hour before detonating it could be very interesting.

[GonzoGOP]

LNG doesn’t burn or explode. It has to vaporize first and dilute to 5~15% concentration with air. At that concentration it will have warmed and risen given the low specific gravity of methane.

Yes it will explode. It called a BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) and they are particularly nasty. You have to get the conditions right, but once that happens the BOOM is impressive to say the lest.

It starts with a fire that heats up the tank until the LNG begins to boil off faster than the safety valves can vent it. The tank then ruptures and explodes is like a steam boiler going off. Note that at this point the LNG is not burning, just an rapidly changing from liquid to Gas. However as it moves out it mixes with the surrounding air and then the second much more powerful blast goes off.

Although LPG is the usual culprit in a BLEVE LNG can do the trick