LNG powered container ships make headway

Last year saw the delivery of Isla Bella, the world’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered container ship, to TOTE Maritime by General Dynamics NASSCO. The Marlin class vessel is the largest dry cargo ship powered by LNG and is claimed to be the cleanest cargo-carrying ship anywhere in the world, dramatically decreasing emissions and increasing fuel efficiency when compared to conventionally powered ships.

The trend towards LNG powered container ships continues, with General Electric (GE), Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Lloyd’s Register (LR) signing up to a project to develop a gas turbine powered, electrically-driven, 14,000 teu container ship design. With LNG-fuelled gas turbines and electric motors, it is intended that the design will be a clean-powered ship with maximum efficiency and operational speed flexibility.

The project represents a further development of work by HHI and LR on maximised and safe container loading, and continues GE’s collaboration with LR on the COGES (combined gas turbine, electric and steam) propulsion and power system technology.

The joint development project was signed on 15 March in Seoul, South Korea by GE, HHI and LR, and is the latest step in the development of gas turbine-powered ship designs suitable for deepsea, commercial applications.

While gas turbines are a proven technology and have been used at sea in naval ships, high speed craft and passenger ships, the benefits of gas turbines have not yet been applied to mainstream cargo shipping. This project will develop a design to safely maximise the potential operational benefits of gas turbine systems.

Brian Bolsinger, GE’s vice president of marine operations, explains that COGES offers a combination of advantages. “The operational benefits of gas turbines to naval architects, owners and operators include high power in a compact package and design flexibility. The gas turbine is so lightweight – fully 80 per cent lighter and 30 per cent smaller than comparable slow speed diesel applications – that it can be located anywhere on the ship.

“The design will enable flexible configuration and, with GE’s portfolio of gas turbines, total installed power can easily meet today’s highest requirements. The GE gas turbines can be equipped with a GE dry low emissions or single annular combustion system, both capable of meeting IMO Tier III and United States Environmental Protection Agency Tier 4 requirements with no exhaust treatment and no methane slip. The turbines can run on diesel as well as gas, if required, providing further flexibility.”

COGES also opens the way for new thinking on the maintenance and financing of ships. With gas turbines, for example, finance could be arranged on a ‘power-by-the-hour’ basis and maintenance could see the swapping in and out of an entire gas turbine within 24 hours. These options reduce down-time and enable maintenance conditions without getting in the way of ship operations, which is ideal for the container trades.

Byeong-Rok Lee, HHI senior vice president and head of initial design office, said that he expects the technological innovation of this 14,000 teu class container ship will provide a brand new vision for future container ships, with enhanced operational efficiency and flexibility from the increased container intake and an environmentally friendly dual-fuel system provided by the COGES system.

IJin-Tae Lee, Lloyd’s Register Asia’s Korea chief representative and marine manager, emphasised the importance of technical innovation following the paradigm shift in the shipping and shipbuilding industries. He added that he expected that this kind of co-operation would be a cornerstone which would prepare all interested stakeholders for the future upturn in business. LR has steadfastly reinforced its investment in innovation through joint development and joint industry projects with shipyards, focusing on technology-enabled and agile projects, in order to take its technical leadership to the next level.

LR and GE have worked together on a number of joint development projects related to gas turbines, notably on a design for a gas turbine-powered LNG carrier introduced to the market in 2013. LR Approval in Principle (AiP) was given to this in December 2015.

The 14,000 teu project will be technically led by LR’s Busan technical support office engineering experts and facilitated by Sung-Gu Park, LR’s strategic marketing manager for design innovation, based at the Global Technology Centre in Southampton, UK. He commented: “We will take this from the ground up through to hazard identification studies and a COGES operation modes evaluation. We will be looking at the design’s power station configuration, hazardous areas, structural integrity, safe separation, pipe routing and ventilation. These studies will help mature the design and minimise risk for GE’s COGES and HHI’s container ships system. We will also be able to evaluate technical risks including the gas combustion unit and compressors with the equipment makers to help ensure safety and operability.

“We are here to provide the assurance required to develop a safe, dependable, optimised capability design so that forward thinking owners are able to make the best commercial decisions based on the best technical understanding.”

source: http://www.lngworldshipping.com/news/view,lng-powered-container-ships-make-headway_42846.htm