German cruise ship fitted with “greenest ever” SCR system

Written by Nick Blenkey
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Amadea is familiar to German TV audiences as Das Traumschiff (the Dream Ship)

MAN Energy Solutions reports that its after-sales division, MAN PrimeServ Augsburg, has completed the retrofitting of dual SCR systems aboard the cruise ship MS Amadea, operated by Phoenix Reisen GmbH and managed by BSM Cruise Services.

The 1991-built, 624-passenger capacity ship is well-known to German audiences as it serves as the main set for the long-running German TV series Das Traumschiff (the Dream Ship).

The retrofit developed by MAN PrimeServ Augsburg enables the vessel to meet emission standards in the key Norwegian Heritage Fjord market. The project saw an SCR system integrated into each of the Amadea’s MAN 7L58/64 four-stroke propulsion-engines.

For the project, MAN PrimeServ prioritized keeping hazardous emissions to a minimum while maintaining engine performance and propulsion efficiency.

HONEYCOMBS

“This has been an important pilot project for MAN PrimeServ that ultimately proceeded smoothly despite the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Bernd Siebert, head of retrofits and upgrades at MAN PrimeServ. “Notably, we also successfully delivered the SCR systems pre-equipped with honeycombs in order to maintain the tight schedule. Besides some minor, technical adjustments post-installation, we easily reached the required exhaust-gas temperatures for SCR operation and regeneration of the honeycombs in testing. We still need to determine the exact urea consumption required to achieve the necessary NOx reduction, but, fortunately, the engines have been recently equipped with new MAN turbochargers such that safe operation of the SCR systems is guaranteed.”

The Amadea project required steelwork to free space for installation of the SCR systems and ancillary units. The modular SCR system typically installed aboard newbuildings was not 100% transferable to a retrofit and required some adjustments in the case of the Amadea. Mechanical and electrical integration, and system parameterisation, also required some resources. The formal handover of the Amadea to Phoenix Reisen took place in mid-January 2022 after classification society acceptance.

Bosse Berg, technical superintendent at BSM Cruise Services and his engine team verified the successful emission reductions during commissioning of the system and stated that they were convinced by its performance.

“This SCR solution establishes Phoenix Reisen and BSM CS as trailblazers within the cruise segment in terms of emission reduction,” said Siebert. “Increasingly, we are receiving requests from cruise and ferry companies that want to improve their green credentials and who desire to become sustainable without the need for mandated industry legislation. We have learned many lessons and gained valuable commercial experience from the entire Amadea project that will serve us in good stead on similar projects in the future.”

GREENEST SOLUTION ON THE MARKET

MAN says its SCR system is the “greenest solution available on the market” with the highest operational readiness and safety: the SCR will be available from just 15% engine load, enabling clean operation both during slow-sailing in the fjords and when close to port and populated areas. Fitting the SCR solution has brought the Amadea’s engines from Tier 0 status to Tier III emission level, and has reduced NOx emissions by 90%, equivalent to annual savings of 600 tons per annum.

The SCR solution has been fully integrated into the Amadea’s engine-control set-up. With its closed-loop system and a weather station that uses environmental data, the NOx-reduction rate is maximized and ammonia-slip from the urea used in the system minimized to just 10 ppm, comparable to that of a car. Low ammonia slip is not both good in that ammonia is a greenhouse gas and affects the climate, but also because it reduces urea consumption, enabling the urea-tank size to be minimized.

A feasibility study by MAN PrimeServ at the start of the project confirmed the compact, modular SCR system’s suitability for the limited space available aboard the vessel. Its integration into the narrow funnel is only possible due to the special 87 cells per square inch honeycombs and their high reactivity in a two-layer slim reactor design.

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