10 Oslo Bulk ships to be fitted with Berg EEXI solution

Decision to fit Berg EPL for EEXI solution on nine more ships followed pilot on 8,036 DWT Oslo Bulk 6

Oslo Bulk Shipping AS’s Bulkship Management subsidiary, which specializes in geared vessels, is to implement Berg Propulsion’s “EPL for EEXI” power limitation solution on 10 Oslo Bulk ships trading in U.S. Gulf and Caribbean waters.

Berg Propulsion says the engine power limitation solution is of particular benefit to the many ships whose performance requires only moderate adjustment to meet IMO EEXI requirements. In force from January 1, 2023, EEXI means owners must verify that a ship’s attained energy efficiency matches its “required EEXI” by its first subsequent survey.

Rather than using a governor for engine derating or ShaPoLi (shaft power limitation), Berg’s EPL (engine power limiter) is a software-based solution which works with the company’s MPC800 control system to limit propeller pitch. Requiring no additional sensors, signals are sent by the Berg EPL to the ship’s controllable pitch propeller (CPP), where brake torque is reduced until the engine power reaches its approved range. The information can be used to verify that attained EEXI matches required EEXI, once entered into the IMO data collection system (DCS).

A pilot technical assessment on the 8,036 DWT Bulkship Management vessel Oslo Bulk 6, indicated that EEXI needs would be satisfied by derating its main engine to comply with the new regulations. Sea trials covering the Berg EPL’s limiting effect on the ship’s Berg MPP950 CPP brought DNV acceptance of the system’s performance as an effective EPL solution.

Bulkship has now confirmed orders to install the solution on nine more ships.

On a CPP installation, it is more natural to limit the engine power output by the accurate governance of the propeller than by limiting the engine rpm setpoint,” said Magnus Thorén, sales manager energy & efficiency at Berg Propulsion. “We use the main engine signal interface to limit the brake torque created by the propeller. Although it’s for a different purpose, this is based on the well-established practice of using a propeller pitch setpoint for overload protection.”

Using the Berg EPL, crew are at liberty to override the function in cases where full power is needed on a password-protected basis, although exceeding the pre-set limit would result in automatic logging for later reporting purposes, said Thorén.

“Our newly released EPL adds to our growing portfolio of novel automation solutions integrated in our MPC800 control platform,” said Jonas Nyberg, managing director – West, BERG Propulsion. “We are continuously developing new software solutions for our existing MPC800 control system, leveraging the platform already installed in the world fleet. Solutions include fuel optimization systems, hybrid controls and now EPL, among others.”

All 10 of the Oslo Bulk ships being fitted with the solution feature Berg’s MPC 800 control system solution, which is required as a starting point for the Berg EPL solution.

According to Thorén, the solution’s effectiveness has encouraged one buyer who was already upgrading its ship control systems to MPC 800 control to specify that Berg EPL for EEXI should also be included.