Posted - Wednesday, 28 August 2013 - Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
On the occasion of the visit of the German Minister of Transport, Peter
Ramsauer, to Caterpillar's factory in Rostock, DNV's Country Manager
Jörg Langkabel, said that making technology-based decisions is complex
for each individual company, as is finding the right way into the
future. DNV supports the overall political will and dedication to reduce
harmful emissions from ship
operations.
DNV is helping the industry in Germany to introduce LNG as an economic
and safe alternative fuel for ships. The new environmentally friendly
dual-fuel Caterpillar M 46 engine is fully capable of running on LNG and
meets all the Tier III requirements in gas mode.
At the event, the presented possibility of converting a large number of
ships with Caterpillar engines to LNG showed that this technology is now
leaving the market niche and spreading out into the industry. As the
most experienced class and service provider, DNV is playing an important
role in supporting this development.
Mr Ramsauer made reference to Germany's fuel strategy for the
transportation industry, including shipping. He explained that the
German government is ready to support pilot projects like retrofitting
new engine solutions on ships.
Caterpillar pointed out that 450 ships are now using the M43C-type
engine, which can be converted to an LNG-fuelled M 46 DF engine. The
majority of these engines are installed on ships with German owners.
About 190 of these ships are less than six years old and therefore in
principle suitable for conversion to LNG. Most of the ships are
container feeders of similar design. There is thus the potential for a
standardised, cost-effective retrofit of a large number of ships.
"The transport industry can play a leading role by changing fuel. With
our mobility and fuel strategy, we have introduced a way forward for a
change with a long-term horizon, making this suitable for continuous
planning and implementation," said Mr Ramsauer. He demonstrated the
government's willingness to implement changes, stating that the MS Atair
ship - which belongs to the German Authority for Shipping and
Hydrographics - will be replaced by a new LNG-fuelled ship in 2015.
"DNV is convinced that LNG is an environmentally friendly fuel and the
best available option to reduce emissions. We can offer many services
relating to ship-specific solutions as well as advice on infrastructure
needs and investments by ports and authorities. DNV's tool for
assessment and guidance on using LNG as fuel is the LNG Ready service,
where the technical solutions are examined and alternatives compared on
an OPEX and CAPEX basis, enabling customers to make a strategic
decision," said Mr Langkabel.
He added that DNV has a long and proven track record on LNG since the
1960s, when DNV was instrumental in the development of the Moss-design
round transport tanks for LNG, a design still in use. DNV classed
Norway's first LNG-fuelled ferry, which has been operational since 2000,
and classes more than 90 per cent of all LNG-fuelled ships. The newest
is the Stavangerfjord cruise ferry belonging to the Norwegian owner
Fjordline. This ship is 170 metres long and can carry 1,500 passengers
and 600 cars. It will serve the busy ferry connections between Norway
and Denmark.
Source: DNV
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