Matson LNG-fueling upgrade will include TMC boil-off gas solution

Written by Nick Blenkey

According to a Matson investor presentation, the cost of the upgrade of the Daniel K. Inouye to dual fuel operation on LNG will be about $35 million

The big news from Honolulu-headquartered Matson, Inc.(NYSE: MATX) at the beginning of this month was that it had placed a $1 billion order for three LNG-fueled Aloha-class containerships at Philly Shipyard. Those ships will not be delivered until 2026 and, meantime, Matson is upgrading its first two “LNG-ready” Aloha-class ships for dual fuel operation on LNG. According to a Matson investor presentation, the cost of the conversion of the first of these, the 3,600 TEU Daniel K. Inouye, will be about $35 million

A critical part of the upgrades is the fuel gas supply system (FGSS) and earlier this year Matson contracted Singapore-based C-LNG Solutions to supply the FGSS for the Inouye upgrade, which is being carried out in a Shanghai shipyard.

Under its contract, C-LNG will supply three 1,350 cubic meter type C LNG fuel tanks with in-tank pumps and tank gauging system, low-pressure vaporizer and buffer tank, glycol-water system, and N2 system.

C-LNG has contracted Norway’s TMC Compressors to deliver the boil-off gas compressors for the fuel gas supply system. According to TMC, its boil-off gas compressors can be used on both dual-fuel vessels, for example LNG in combination with bunker oil, and single-fuel LNG vessels.

Onboard a vessel that uses LNG as fuel, heat from the surroundings increases the temperature inside the cooled down LNG fuel tanks, causing liquid to evaporate. The gas generated from this is known as boil-off gas. The system captures the boil-off gas from the LNG fuel tanks onboard, compresses it with a TMC compressor and injects it into the main engine as fuel.

“By compressing the boil-off gas to the required pressure in order to supply it as fuel directly into the ship’s engine, you have an optimal system with regards to energy efficiency,” says Hans Petter Tanum, TMC’s director of sales and business development.