MTU gas engines to power world’s first LNG-hybrid harbor tug

Written by Nick Blenkey
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The main propulsion system of the Sembcorp hybrid tug comprises twin 16-cyclinder MTU Series 4000 gas units which will provide a combined total power of 2,984 kW.

Rolls-Royce is supplying two MTU 16V 4000 M55RN gas engines to Singapore’s Sembcorp Marine Integrated Yard. They will power what will be the world’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-hybrid powered tug. The harbor tug will be operated in Singapore by Jurong Marine Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine and is the first of 12 tugs that Sembcorp Marine plans to design and build to replace existing diesel-powered vessels between now and 2025.

“We are very happy to be part of Sembcorp Marine’s efforts in environmental protection and adopt new green technologies in their operations. The MTU marine gas engines are part of Rolls-Royce’s Green and High-Tech program. Without exhaust gas aftertreatment they emit no sulfur oxides only very small quantities of nitrogen oxide and particulate mass is below the verification limit,” says Chew Xiang Yu, Head of Rolls-Royce Power Systems’ commercial marine business in Asia.

The tug will be the the first LNG-hybrid tug to be powered by MTU gas engines.

It has been designed by Sembcorp Marine’s Norwegian design subsidiary LMG Marin, to deliver 65 tons bollard pull (BP).

It is estimated that the ABS classed tug will be completed in the later part of 2021.

The main propulsion system of the tug cccomprises twin 16-cylinder MTU Series 4000 gas units which will provide a combined total power of 2,984 kW at 1,600 RPM (revolutions per minute).

The new gas engines are able to deliver performance comparable to a high-speed diesel engine. Equipped with multipoint fuel injection, dynamic engine control and enhanced turbocharging, the engines cater for dynamic acceleration capabilities, high power output and reduced emissions considerably below the current IMO III limits without the need for exhaust aftertreatment. The LNG-hybrid propulsion system will be able to provide flexibility to cater for various operational modes and is able to switch between low emission liquefied natural gas (LNG) engines and zero-emission battery power.

The new MTU gas engines are already powering ferries operated by the Dutch shipping company Rederij Doeksen in the specially protected Wadden Sea. A Lake Constance ferry operated by Stadtwerke Konstanz will also start operating in 2021 with the new MTU gas engines.

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