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Green technologies: The road to faster adoption

Leading shipowners and operators, gas suppliers, ports, class societies, and technologists gathered last month in London to announce a new cross-industry initiative aimed at accelerating the adoption of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a marine fuel. The initiative hopes to address the issues of LNG bunkering infrastructure, regulatory concerns, and the higher initial capital investment costs in building LNG-fueled vessels.

Called SEA/LNG, the initiative brings together participants from Carnival Corporation & plc, DNV GL, ENGIE, ENN, GE, GTT, Lloyd’s Register, Mitsubishi Corporation, NYK Line, Port of Rotterdam, Qatargas, Shell, TOTE Inc. and Wärtsilä.

The goal of the initiative explains TOTE Inc. Executive Vice President Peter Keller, who is serving as SEA\LNG’s Chairman, is to address “market barriers and help transform the use of LNG as a marine fuel into a global reality.”

When it comes to using LNG as a marine fuel, TOTE is all in. It’s committed about $500 million in capital investments to have its entire fleet to burn LNG. The U.S.-flag operator has built two 3,100 TEU LNG-fuelled containerships now in operation between the Port of Jacksonville, FL, and San Juan, PR, and is converting the two ORCA Class Roll-on/Roll-Off ships in its fleet to burn LNG. The first of those two is being converted at Singapore’s Keppel Shipyard this fall.

TOTE is not alone in adding dual-fuel and LNG-Ready tonnage to its oceangoing fleet in the U.S. Harvey Gulf International Marine, Crowley Maritime Corp., Matson Navigation, Kinder Morgan, and SEA VISTA/SEACOR all have vessels in operation or under construction that burn or could eventually burn LNG as a marine fuel. In all, there are 29 vessels that are designed or could be converted to burn LNG as shown in the accompanying table. This does not include inland and coastal vessels such as towboats or ferries.

The U.S. Maritime Administration, for example, is supporting the conversion of a towboat to burn LNG as fuel.

The use of LNG as a marine fuel has increased with Emission Control Areas (ECAs) coming into force in Northern Europe and North America under MARPOL Annex VI. LNG is relatively clean burning, containing virtually no sulfur content and it produces lower NOx and particulate matter in the combustion process than fuel oil and marine diesel oil.

A long-time, well-known proponent of LNG as a marine fuel, John Hatley, PE, Gas Initiatives Wärtsilä North America, sees gas as a compelling solution for box feeders, RO/RO vessels, ferries and cruise ships, product tankers, Great Lakes vessels, and ATBs on short coastal voyages that enter into ECAs.

LNG is therefore able to offer a fuel solution compliant with both current and anticipated future regulations.

The larger effect from Annex VI will come when the requirement to reduce sulfur content of marine fuels to 0.5% on a global basis effective 2020 or 2025 depending on the outcome of an IMO low sulfur fuel availability study to be completed in 2018. The issue for ship owners and operators is how to find alternatives to economically meet the low sulfur fuel mandate about to be imposed by MARPOL Annex VI.

However, while LNG is a competitive fuel relative to current alternatives, LNG infrastructure is needed in ports around the world to enable quick, safe and cost effective bunkering. In the U.S., the first LNG bunker transport barge with GTT Mark III Flex tank technology is under construction at Conrad Orange shipyard in Orange, TX, and expected to be delivered in early 2017. LNG bunkering infrastructure is far more advanced in Europe.

“Everybody is calling for alternatives to reduce environmental impacts says Philip Olivier, CEO of ENGIE Global LNG. “That’s why we have joined forces to actively promote LNG as a key fuel in maritime transport. LNG has the potential to take a 10% market share of global bunker demand by 2030. ENGIE will contribute to achieving this target.”

Tom Strang, Senior Vice President, Maritime Affairs, Carnival Corporation & plc, says, “By working together proactively across the whole marine LNG value chain we can make the transition to a lower emission marine sector a reality.”

Lauran Wetemans Shell’s general manager downstream LNG agrees. “To make the transition to LNG as a fuel happen it needs close collaboration with key players across the full value chain,” says, Wetemans. “SEA/LNG aims to promote the benefits and potential of LNG fuel, and create a level playing field for LNG with other fuels. It will complement the work being done by other organizations like the Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel.”

Leo Karistios, Gas Technology Lead, Lloyd’s Register, points out, “LNG fuelled shipping has mainly been for the visionaries and, until now, concentrated in specialist ship sectors: short sea shipping and ferries, mainly sailing between two fixed ports. We want to help drive the expansion of LNG as a marine fuel of choice, with not just more short sea and local ships burning gas, but also the deep sea trades.”

Timo Koponen, Vice President, Flow & Gas Solutions, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions, says his company will contribute “its vast experience and know-how in gas driven propulsion systems and the entire gas value chain” to the initiative. “By working together, we plan to overcome the challenges and speed the general acceptance of LNG. Having been a pioneer in the use of LNG as a marine fuel, and a developer of major technologies facilitating the adoption of LNG fuel, it is natural that Wärtsilä supports wholeheartedly the aims of the SEA/LNG coalition.”

Developing bulk carrier concept
Wärtsilä is also involved with an effort with class society ABS, Arista Shipping, Deltamarin, and GTT in the Project Forward joint development project (JDP) to develop a dry bulk carrier concept that employs LNG as fuel.

The goal is to develop a Kamsarmax bulk carrier design to be the first of this type suitable for worldwide services powered by LNG in compliance with the IMO’s Energy Efficiency Design Index 2025 standards, NOx Tier III and MARPOL Annex VI SOx emission levels. This landmark design will be the first LNG-fueled cargo ship capable of full-range operations.

“The long-term potential for LNG as a marine fuel is tremendous,” says ABS Vice President of Global Gas Solutions Patrick Janssens. “We see the near-term opportunities for larger vessels on fixed and known trade routes, but more opportunities will emerge as concepts mature and bunkering infrastructure expands. Environmental stewardship will continue to be a concern, and owners will be evaluating alternative fuel choices.”

“Project Forward represents a milestone for the shipping industry in bringing to the market a practical, achievable design for what are the workhorses of the shipping fleet,” says Arista Shipping Principal Alexander P. Panagopulos. “Our mission is to develop the next generation of energy efficient and environmentally friendly dry bulk cargo ships to be sustainable worldwide beyond 2030. It marks a number of ‘firsts’ and draws together the experience of a team of leaders in their field to make LNG powered shipping a reality on the high seas.”

Technical challenges in developing this design were considerable, as there is a need to carry a large volume of LNG (2,500 m3) – which corresponds to full-range operation and 40 days – in a type of ship where available space is limited and cargo space is at a premium.

ABS will provide Approval in Principle (AIP) for the concept, which is based on the highly optimized Deltamarin B.Delta 82 design, utilizing a GTT membrane LNG fuel tank. This design also could be applied to other bulk carrier sizes and serve as the basis for an LNG-fueled tanker. The concept features a Wärtsilä four-stroke, medium-speed engine without auxiliary generators, the first time this configuration has been applied to a vessel of this type, significantly simplifying the vessel’s engine room arrangement and contributing to lower capital expenditure.

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Propulsion: Group Think

Vessel operators are still very much focused on reducing fuel consumption and lowering emissions. Collaboration early on in the design of a new vessel and its construction between the vessel owner, naval architects, shipbuilders, and propulsion manufacturers can payoff in optimizing the vessel’s hull, reducing costs of construction, and lowering operational costs during a vessel’s lifetime.

“We work with naval architects early in the design process to help optimize the propulsion system, looking to meet all design requirements while minimizing the size and horsepower of the system,” says Elizabeth Boyd, PE, President, Nautican Research & Development Ltd. Boyd says collaboration early in the design phase “can result in significant savings because if the horsepower can be reduced due to efficiency gains, it can lead to size reductions in not just the horsepower and propellers, but also everything that goes along with it—shafts, bearings, etc.—sometimes it can even mean meeting the requirements with a smaller boat.  We can quickly show performance and full system configuration for different sizes, allowing the naval architect to explore options very quickly.”

Nautican’s foundation was built on efficiency. More than 40 years ago, company founder Josip Gruzling pioneered the use of hydrofoils to increase the efficiency of tugs and barges. Today, Nautican engineers and manufactures hydrodynamic solutions, including patented Integrated Propulsion Units, High efficiency nozzles and propellers, high aspect ratio triple rudders, pre-swirl stators, and also hydralift skegs for barges. It says independent tests show that its propulsion system solutions increase power and maneuverability, while significantly reducing fuel use and maintenance needs.

One of the Nautican’s latest projects is fabricating the first two sets of 104-inch nozzle units for the 120 ft Kirby Offshore Marine line haul tugs under construction at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Whidbey Island, WA.

According to Boyd, initially nozzle development was done using both Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and physical testing in a cavitation tunnel and towing tank. “However,” she says, “our CFD efforts now are focused more on integration with the hull form. For these boats, CFD was not used as the design was already well developed and fairly straight-forward as far as placing the nozzles.” 

The designer of the ABS Class tugs is Jensen Maritime, Crowley Maritime Corp.’s Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering company.

Each of the two tugboats will be equipped with two Caterpillar 3516C main engines, rated at 2,447 hp at 1,600 rev/min. Reintjes reduction gears, supplied by Karl Senner, LLC, Kenner, LA, will turn two Nautican fixed-pitch propellers with fixed nozzles. Other equipment onboard the tugs will include two C7.1 Caterpillar generators for electrical service, one TESD-34 Markey tow winch, one CEW-60 Markey electric capstan and one Smith Berger Town Pin.

“Kirby owns many boats with Nautican systems, but most of these have been ATBs (Articulated Tug Barge units) to date,” says Boyd. “We worked recently with Nichols on a pair of Kirby 10,000 hp ATB tugs—this project went very well and these vessels are performing exceptionally well in service.”    

Nautican designed larger 120 inch nozzle units for another tug for Dunlap Towing. “Dunlap is a Nautican repeat customer,” says Boyd. The new tug, says Boyd is a new design, based on the Phyllis Dunlap, but “fully rethought and redesigned by Hockema Whalen.”

The 5,000 hp, twin-screw tug Phyllis Dunlap was built in 2001 by Hansen Boat Company, Everett, WA.

“Dunlap has been a great customer to work with—they are very involved in all aspects of the design and equipment selection and are very knowledgeable, providing some really useful feedback about performance over the years in their very demanding runs to Hawaii and Alaska.”

Wärtsilä Transverse Thruster
Earlier this year, Wärtsilä expanded its transverse thruster series with the addition of the Wärtsilä WTT-40, with a 4,000 kW power level and a 3,400 mm diameter controllable pitch propeller. While Wärtsilä has designed and built customized transverse thrusters as powerful as 5,500 kW, the WTT-40 and others in the WTT range address customer needs for high power transverse thrusters for bow and stern applications.

Development work on the Wärtsilä WTT-40 began in 2015 with an eye on targeting cruise ships, large OSVs and offshore construction vessels. The high power level is particularly important for the harbor maneuvering and docking of large ships, and for dynamic positioning of offshore vessels working in heavy sea conditions.

Because of its maximum power of 4,000 kW, shipyards and cruise vessel designers have the option of using three WTT-40 thrusters instead of four smaller ones. This translates into a more efficient vessel design with less space required for the transverse thrusters. It also allows thrusters to be installed closer to the bow where they are more effective.

Wärtsilä’s extensive experience with propeller design and tunnel optimizations using CFD analysis, ensures an optimal solution when it comes to propulsion performance, efficiency, and the minimization of noise and vibration.

Another benefit of the Wärtsilä WTT-40 is its integrated hydraulics, which save machinery room space and installation and commissioning time at the shipyard.

Innovative ship propulsion systems made by RENK
Military vessels such as patrol boats, corvettes, and frigates looking for “silent running” might well be interested in the Renk Advanced Electric Drive AED. The new drive from the Augsburg, Germany, plant offers a number of special advantages for shipbuilders, says Renk. The propulsion system is a real alternative to the heavy, space consuming electric motors that are rotating at propeller speed.

Modern power electronics allow the use of high-speed motors in combination with an efficient gearbox. The Renk AED combines electric motor and gearbox on one joint frame. Built on soft elastic mounts and equipped with a highly elastic propulsion coupling an incomparably silent operation is possible. The water-jacket of the water-cooled electric motor as well as the double helical reduction gear add to extremely low noise operation.

A modularized lightweight
Thanks to the compact design as well as the low height the preassembled unit is quickly installed with minimum space requirements. Additionally there is a considerable weight advantage. The drive weights around 40% less than a conventional direct drive motor. By comparison, the Renk AED weighs only 23 tons instead of the 35 tons of a direct drive motor of the same power.

Suitable for fixed pitch propellers as well as controllable pitch propellers the drive speed can be flexibly adjusted to the respective propeller requirements. The propulsion systems is built modularly and can be delivered in four sizes from 1.4 to 6 MW. For uses where the requirements are between sizes RENK simply adjusts the capacity of the bigger engine. In this way the complete range of capacities can be covered individually and economically. The motors work with low or mid ranged voltage and are designed –depending on size- for propeller revolutions of 190-450 rev/min.

Investing in new production & testing facilities
Besides pouring millions of dollars into research and development, marine propulsion manufacturers are also investing in new production and testing facilities. Earlier this year, Renk opened one of the largest and most modern test facilities in Europe for gear units at its headquarters in Augsburg. Whether for the shipbuilding, automobile or industrial sector: The multifunctional test facility is especially suitable for the testing of prototypes or special equipment. Renk will not only test its own special gearboxes and propulsion systems, but also those of other propulsion systems or propulsion component manufacturers. The test facility allows for a power capacity of up to 12 MW at 10 revolutions per minute and can take a torque of up to 11 million Nm.

RollsJust this past June, Rolls-Royce Marine unveiled plans for a EURO 57 million plan to upgrade its azimuth thruster plant in Rauma, Finland, and consolidate its thruster assembly and testing to one site.

Rauma produces a wide range of mechanical azimuth thrusters for use on a wide range of applications including semi-submersible drilling rigs and drillships, tugs and offshore vessels. Rauma also produces thrusters for specialist vessels such as icebreakers and polar research ships.

Mikael Makinen, Rolls-Royce, President – Marine, says, “Our azimuth thrusters are one of our most important products, providing mission critical power and propulsion for some of the largest floating objects on the planet. To be able to make this significant investment in Rauma not only prepares us for future growth in this market, but is a vote of confidence in the capability and expertise of our people.””

Azimuthing thrusters rotate through 360 degrees, providing propulsion and maneuverability without the need for a rudder. The largest and most powerful thrusters from Rauma are the ARC type which power icebreakers including the Finnish vessel Fennica. They are among the largest products produced by Rolls-Royce and can each weigh up to 190 tonnes, providing 7.5Mw of power.

Two of the world’s largest floating structures are powered by another range of thrusters produced in Rauma, UUC underwater mountable thrusters:

The heavylift vessel Pioneering Spirit, owned by Allseas, which is used for decommissioning oil platforms, has13 UUC thrusters; and Shell’s Prelude, the world’s first floating LNG production facility, will feature three large UUC thrusters, for position keeping. The thrusters are installed in a novel arrangement that allows them to be removed and maintained within the ship.

The work to transform Rauma will begin immediately and is due for completion in 2020. The investment will include installation of a crane capable of lifting 200 tons, and at least six factory acceptance test rigs. Offices and IT systems will also be refurbished.

Corps seeks bids for new crane barge

AUGUST 8, 2016—The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District, is initiating an Invitation for Bid (IFB) for the procurement of a 300 ft x 68 ft x 12 ft welded steel

Conrad to build crane barge for USACE

AUGUST 5, 2016 — Morgan City, LA, headquartered Conrad Shipyard has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the construction of a crane barge that will operate

Eastern launches inland river towboat

AUGUST 2, 2016 – Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc.Panama City, FL, recently launched Impala Soledad, the first in a series of four inland river towboats under construction at its Allanton shipyard for IWL