LNG Hybrid Barge completes technical trials

LNG Hybrid Barge during full load test trials at 7.5 megawatts

MARCH 12, 2015 — Hamburg, Germany, headquartered Becker Marine Systems reports that its LNG Hybrid Barge, the Hummel, has successfully completed its program of technical trials.’

The barge will serve an LNG fueled floating power station delivering power to cruise ships in the Port of Hamburg, allowing them to switch off the their oil burning auxiliary engines during port calls. Becker says the trials have been completed “right in time for the beginning of the cruise ship season” and the commissioning of the barge for low-emission power supply to cruise ships lying at port in Hamburg can thus start in May 2015.

“The operation of all five of the Hummel’s generator sets recently took place as part of class acceptance,” said Dirk Lehmann and Henning Kuhlmann, the joint Managing Directors of Becker Marine Systems.

In collaboration with classification society Bureau Veritas, the overall LNG Hybrid Barge system was tested and a variety of large load impacts and load spikes were simulated. The overall load transfer of 0 to 7.5 megawatts of power was achieved well below the time of two minutes set by the classification society.

“In addition, the trial generation of power for a large Hamburg-based company was already successfully tested in December 2014,” said Lehmann and Kuhlmann.

“The overall LNG Hybrid Barge system with gas motors is an impressive technical achievement. The trials were also a milestone for classification,” said Hans J. Gätjens, Vice President Marine at Bureau Veritas, responsible for the Central Europe region. “There is thus nothing standing in the way of the LNG Hybrid Barge’s first planned supply of power to cruise ships over the course of May.”