The Motorship April 2020

APRIL 2020

Vol. 101 Issue 1180

IMO 2020

LR’s Muhammad Usman

Flapping-foil

Wärtsilä R&D project

MS100 Wärtsilä

Stefan Nysjö interview

WinGD hybridisation Goranov interview

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: ABB Turbo’s Dino Imhof | mya platform | Baudouin Moteurs pure gas | MET33MBII reference

IMO 2020.

KRAL pumps can handle these fuels.

Low sulfur fuels.

Marine diesel oils.

Heavy fuel oil scrubber retrofit.

The supply of our products is given.

EU-MRV.

Data transmission with KRAL flowmeters.

Avoid discussions with authorities.

Keep emissions at the bottom.

A smarter perspective on marine propulsion Sustainable solutions driving engine efficiency and performance to deliver a low carbon future.

wingd.com

CONTENTS

APRIL 2020

10 NEWS

4

24 Gasum inks first LBG contract

Energy company Gasum has entered into its first contract to supply a liquefied biogas (LBG) blend to a marine customer. The one-year contract is for a LNG 90:10 LBG blend, for two LNG-fuelled product tankers under long-term charters to Sweden-based energy company Preem.

26 Baudouin Moteurs dual-fuel

Baudouin Moteurs is about to launch a pure-gas LNG engine into the stationary energy market later this year. The France-based engine designer confirmed that it was also undertaking research into a new dual-fuel engine with Weichai destined for the marine market.

28 First MET33MBII reference

MHI-MME has received the first reference for its new MET-MBII axial turbocharger.

The manufacturer will supply MET33MBII turbochargers for 12PC2-6B engines manufactured by JFE Engineering Corporation.

16 REGULARS 10 Leader Briefing

Dino Imhof of ABB Turbo identifies a clear and practical technical pathway to address the energy transition targets of world shipping.

16 Design for Performance

As FRP projects addressing fire, joining and flexibility issues progress, Stevie Knight asks whether the time is ripe for wider adoption of large-structure composites in shipbuilding.

38 Ship Description

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Siem Car Carriers took delivery of the first of two 7,700 CEU dual fuel electric-powered pure car and truck carriers from Xiamen Shipbuilding, Siem Confucius.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

FEATURES

29

12 B ringing hybrids to deep-sea Stefan Goranov, Program Manager – Hybridisation at engine designer WinGD discusses efficiency gains and the next steps in the engine designer’s hybridisation programme.

22 V ariability in 0.50%S fuels

Muhammad Usman, LR’s FOBAS product manager assesses the impact of quality variance of VLSFO on machinery equipment and offers some recommendations going forward.

29 Flapping wing project

A new EU-funded consortium, SeaTech, is developing a project to integrate a flapping-wing propulsion device with more precise combustion control of a dual-fuel engine.

31 MS100 – Hybridisation

We look back over the long history of windpower and battery hybrid solutions.

34 MS100 – Wärtsilä

As part of our series of articles celebrating The Motorship’s centenary, we feature an interview with Wärtsilä’s Vice President, Marine Power Solutions Stefan Nysjö.

The Motorship’s will The Motorship’sPropulsion Propulsion&&Future Future Fuels Fuels Conference Conference will take place Germany. take placeon on17-19 17-19November November2020 2020 in in Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.

Stay touchatatpropulsionconference.com propulsionconference.com Stay inintouch

APRIL 2020 | 3

NEWS REVIEW

VIEWPOINT NICK EDSTROM | Editor

LNG SUPPLIER INKS FIRST MARINE LBG SUPPLY CONTRACT

nedstrom@motorship.com

As the global economy comes under unprecedented strains from overlapping supply and demand shocks, and the introduction of lockdowns across much of Europe in response to the coronavirus pandemic disrupts commercial relationships, the shipping industry’s ability to respond to these highly challenging circumstances demonstrates its flexibility and resilience.

Amid these changes, the achievement of the Chinese shipbuilding industry in restarting production in February and delivering highly complex vessels for sea trial, such as the CMA CGM Jacques Saade, should not be underestimated.

The ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp have maintained normal operations, despite restrictions on transportation movements in Europe. Indeed, one of their main challenges is easing transportation bottlenecks to speed the movement of goods away from warehouses, storage tanks and stockyards.

This is not to downplay the significant challenges that face the shipping sector at present.

Stagnant economic activity is impacting cashflow for ship owners and operators in a number of categories. The cruise sector’s difficulties do not need further discussion, while passenger ferry operators have suspended or cut back on services on a number of crossings.

But the shipping industry’s success in maintaining service levels until now relies on national governments providing regulatory assistance.

Seafarers’ right to be allowed to access shore leave needs to be respected during the crisis. This is occurring against the backdrop of the introduction of restrictions on crew transit and transfer by several countries (including Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia) in the last week of March.

The EU has agreed to recommend that all workers involved in transportation, including seafarers, should enjoy free movement within the EU, while the UK government has separately stated support for ports to be kept open and for sick crew members to be allowed to access to medical treatment.

Meanwhile, ship operators need to operate responsibly in these challenging times. Crew availability constraints owing to travel restrictions is leading to crew poaching for hard to fill positions.

LOOKING BACK AND AHEAD This month, we feature a number of articles that assess the progress of the IMO 2020 regulations. For example, Muhammad Usman of Lloyd’s Register offers his perspective on how ship operators have responded to the variation seen in 0.50% sulphur quality characteristics.

This month, we also feature a number of developments that could alter the industry. Stevie Knight reviews the progress of projects looking at the use of different materials in ship construction.

We feature an interview with Stefan Goranov of WinGD, who describes the engine designer’s work in introducing battery hybridisation solutions to two-stroke customers this year. ‘Holistic’ or ship-wide approaches to efficiency are encouraging the development of increasingly sophisticated exchanges of data between different OEMs. A similar systemic approach to maximising efficiency also underpins an interesting research collaboration into combining a flapping-wing propulsion device with a dual-fuel engine.

4 | APRIL 2020

Photo credit: Thun Tankers

Marking our homework

Energy company Gasum has entered into its first contract to supply a liquefied biogas (LBG) blend to a marine customer.

The energy company has entered into a one-year contract to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) and renewable liquefied biogas (LBG) to two LNG-fuelled product tankers under long-term charters to Sweden-based energy company Preem. The tankers will be supplied with a new fuel blend consisting of 90 percent LNG and 10 percent LBG. The new fuel blend will be supplied via ship-to-ship bunkering performed by Gasum’s LNG bunker vessel Coralius. The fuel is expected to be supplied on an index-linked basis, with a fixed premium for LBG to represent production cost differentials.

“This contract represents a new step in the supply of LBG to our customers. We are able to offer LBG on demand to our customers without any restrictions on volume,” said Jacob Granqvist, Sales Director Maritime in Gasum.

The supply of certified biogas in a blend is attracting increasing amounts of interest. Granqvist noted that Gasum’s digitalisation tools would allow shipowners to allocate environmentally-friendly LBG blends to passengers or containers. “Our customers report increasing interest in LBG and other renewable gases - and this offers shipowners a way of passing on costs to their customers.”

8 A sister vessel of Thun Evolve, the 7,999dwt Thun Eos passing through a lock

The new fuel blend will be produced at Gasum’s Risavika LNG production plant. Gasum is sourcing the LBG component of the fuel from Danish suppliers at present, The Motorship understands.

The two time-chartered product tankers that will be supplied with Gasum’s blend of renewable maritime fuel are the 14,800dwt Tern Ocean and 7,999dwt Thun Evolve.

The Thun Evolve has been dedicated to distributive traffic, supplying Preem’s depots and customers in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, since entering service in 2019.

“Maritime transport is an important part of Preem’s operations. We are very pleased to be able to introduce renewable liquefied biogas into our fuel mix.

This opportunity supports our high-end sustainability requirements,” says Anna Karin Klinthäll, Manager Trading Operations at Preem.

Gasum noted that it plans to continue to invest in the LNG and LBG supply chain as part of its plans to develop fuel offerings and services to meet the future needs of the maritime segment. “We have more and more supply coming onstream. We are extending our production portfolio as we speak,” Granqvist concluded.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

Don’t just comply – be a step ahead

Alfa Laval PureSOx continues to lead the way You won’t be alone in choosing a SOx scrubber. But you will be a step ahead, if you select the scrubber at the forefront: Alfa Laval PureSOx. At sea since 2009, PureSOx has the record others aspire to, with every system ever sold in operation and in compliance.

Built on 100 years of marine experience, PureSOx has been chosen for hundreds of vessels to date. But what matters more are the returning customers, convinced by smooth installations, proven results and first-rate global service.

They know PureSOx will keep them ahead – now and in the future.

Start getting ahead at www.alfalaval.com/puresox

NEWS REVIEW

BRIEFS Havila ORC order

Havila Voyages has selected Climeon’s waste heat recovery system for four new coastal ferries. The Heat Power systems are to be delivered during 2021 and 2022. The first two vessels willbe fitted with Climeon plants after delivery, while the third and fourth vessels will have an operational plant installed before delivery. The Climeon Heat Power System uses waste heat from the engines to heat the vessel but also to generate clean electricity.

6 | APRIL 2020

icebreaking is critical for us, as 90% of Swedish products travel by sea and so without effective icebreaking northern ports would

8 The Swedish Maritime Administration and FTIA jointly procured the Uhle class of icebreakers, including the Ymer (pictured)

be closed for 130 days of the year,” said Katarina Norén, Director General of the Swedish Maritime Administration.

BAUDOUIN MOTEURS TO DEVELOP MARINE DF ENGINE France-based engine manufacturer Baudouin Moteurs is carrying out research into a dual-fuel engine for the marine market in conjunction with China-based Weichai Power, the company confirmed on Friday.

The company confirmed it is developing a “hybrid” solution for marine, and that it was also considering extending its liquefied natural gas product range to the marine market in the future. The company declined to confirm whether the new high-speed engine would share the ignition concept of the new pure gas engine the company is launching in H2 2020, but noted Baudouin and Weichai Power were “sharing their combined expertise” to drive greener solutions for our various product lines.

Baudouin has been Weichai Power’s European R&D hub since 2009, when it was acquired by the Chinese engine manufacturer. The company designs and manufactures its engines in Cassis, near Marseille in southern France.

The development demonstrated Baudouin’s commitment to its environmental

responsibilities: the company was the first supplier in the 4401214kW segment of the market to meet EPA IV and IMO III standards when it launched the M26.3 engine in 2014.

Baudouin also confirmed it was launching a series of new engines for the stationary market in H2 2020, including a lean-burn lowpressure pure gas LNG engine.

The new product line - PowerKit Gas - will be available with power outputs between 63-1750 kVA at 50Hz and 63-1400 kVA 60Hz. Specifications for the new engine ranges are available on the company’s website here.

The company noted that applying to marine engines “will not be a problem” owing to similarities in block design and major components between stationary and marine engines.

Hull cleaning solution

Paris MoU guidance

Techcross patent

Jotun has launched an innovative hull cleaning solution using remotely-operated hull cleaning robots. The Hull Skating Solution (HSS) combines Jotun’s antifouling and technical service, with proactive condition monitoring, inspection and proactive cleaning.

The company is also offering a range of performance guarantees and service level agreements.

The HSS solution also provides individual proactive condition monitoring services tailored for each vessel.

Picture courtesy of Baudouin Moteurs

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency (FTIA) and the Swedish Maritime Administration (Sjöfartsverket) have signed a cooperation agreement for the design of the next generation of icebreakers.

The agreement aims to carry out design work for three Swedish and two Finnish icebreakers, to replace the 1970s vintage Atle/ Urho class of vessels, which are approaching the end of their operational lifespan.

The design of the icebreakers will be carried out as a joint procurement. The two agencies previously cooperated as part of the procurement of the Atle/Urho class of icebreakers in the 1970s.

The two agencies have not yet reached an agreement around the possible construction of the icebreakers. The Motorship notes that provision for future conversion to dual-fuel operation was included in a recent common rail upgrade project aboard Ymer, which extended the vessel’s operational life.

The agencies noted that as the size of the vessels operating to Finnish and Swedish ports is increasing, tighter environmental requirements is reducing the engine power of merchant ships, and the reduced engine power is affecting their ability to move through ice.

“The first step towards the next generation of icebreakers has now been taken. Our current vessels are already at the end of their life cycle. Effective

Credit: Staffan Ahlstrand, Sjöfartsverket Rederi

NEXT GENERATION OF ICEBREAKERS FOR BALTIC SEA

8 Baudouin plans to launch a pure gas version of the 12M55 diesel engine (pictured) in H2 2020

The Paris MoU has developed temporary guidance for its member authorities during the COVID-19 crisis. The guidance sets out adoption of a pragmatic approach to be taken with regard vessels surveys, mandatory training and certificate revalidation.

Guidance for PSC authorities has been drafted regarding delays to surveys, inspections and audits, extensions of validity of the ship’s certificates.

Techcross has entered into a patent transfer agreement with Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co and Hitachi to receive the patent for a BWMS installation solution. The transfer of rights will complete by the beginning of June. The BWMS can be installed near the bridge towards the aft of a ship, allowing effective use of available space. As such, ship structures or hull shapes do not need to be largely modified to install the BWMS when using this solution.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

A new brand with long tradition enters the stage. PBST. We are your dependable partner for holistic, advanced and inspiring air-management systems.

↗ More information: air-management@pbst.eu www.pbst.eu

NEWS REVIEW

DMC steers TSHDs

Damen Marine Components has won an order for three sets of steering and rudder systems for three dualfuelled trailing suction hopper dredgers (TSHDs) currently being built at Keppel Offshore & Marine’s shipyard in Singapore for Van Oord. The 138m vessels will have a hopper capacity of 10,500m³ and each vessel will have two Van der Velden COMMANDER piston-type steering systems and two Van der Velden MASTER Rudders with fish-tail design bulb.

Brunvoll DPST deal

Brunvoll has won a large contract for thrusters from the world’s largest shipyard, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in South Korea. HHI has ordered the thruster systems for the construction of three new 155,000 dwt shuttle tankers for the Malaysian shipping company AET for use in the company’s operations in oil fields outside Brazil. During operation, the vessels will use dynamic positioning (DP) with the help of two tunnel thrusters and three retractable azimuth thrusters totalling 13,700 kW.

FPT diversifies

FPT Industrial acquired Potenza Technology, a UK company specialist in the design and development of electric and hybrid electric powertrain systems. The acquisition, which was announced in March 2020, represents another step in FPT Industrial’s path towards electrification, one of the pillars of its multi-power powertrain strategy. The UK company combines experience in developing high energy density lithium battery packs, with expertise in functional safety engineering, and electric and electronic systems design and development.

8 | APRIL 2020

COMBINED EGR AND BILGE WATER SEPARATOR LAUNCHED Sweden-based marine equipment supplier Marinfloc has launched a combined bilge water separator and Exhaust Gas Recirculation Bleed Off water treatment system.

The innovative solution extends Marinfloc’s established flocculation treatment for bilge water to EGR bleed off water treatment. The solution has been approved by classification society DNV GL and MAN Energy Solutions and fulfils the requirements of MEPC 107(49) and MEPC 307(73).

EGR is used to reduce NOx as per the Tier III requirements when use with compliant fuel.

The rules require bleed-off water to be treated to < 15 PPM when recirculating exhaust gas, which is also the requirement for bilge water.

By combining the two treatment systems, ship owners can achieve capex savings and optimise space requirements, without any impact on performance. Marinfloc notes operating costs are also likely to be reduced as maintenance,

8 Marinfloc’s new combined bilge water separator and EGR Bleed Off water treatment system

spare parts and training are needed only for one unit.

The development of the combined solution began in 2016

at MAN Energy Solutions in Copenhagen. Class society DNV GL approved the system design in early 2020.

FIRST REFERENCE FOR MET-MBII TURBOCHARGER Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Marine Machinery & Equipment (MHI-MME) has received the first order for MET33MBII turbochargers for 12PC2-6B engines manufactured by JFE Engineering Corporation.

The turbochargers will be installed in the main engines of two RoPax vessels newly built by Naikai Zosen Corporation and owned by Miyazaki Car Ferry Co. The MET-MBII series is a

new type of axial turbocharger which increases air flow volume while maintaining the reliability and ease of maintenance of the MET-MB turbocharger. Air flow volume is around 16% larger than the MET-MB series.

The compressor map has been widened thanks to several innovations, while the maximum compressor pressure ratio is 5.0 for the MET-MBII series. The bearing diameter and the rotor

Photo: MHI-MME

BRIEFS

shaft diameter were reduced compared with the MET-MB, permitting higher speed without an increase in bearing temperatures.

The MET turbocharger has redesigned the gas labyrinth on the turbine side, increasing the area where the seal air pushes on the turbine side, in order to reduce the increased pressure on the compressor side thrust bearing.

The series offers particular advantages for conventional engines fitted with high pressure EGR systems, which could benefit from wide air flow range compressors. The series is also suitable for dual-fuel engines entering service, which have specific air flow requirements at higher loads.”

Delivery is scheduled for October 2020 for the first ship and February 2021 for the second.

8 The MET-MBII turbocharger

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

Performance you can rely on.

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LEADER BRIEFING

THE PATH TO HYDROGEN WITH A ZERO-CARBON FOOTPRINT Renewable hydrogen is crucial to shipping’s decarbonisation. But getting there will not be easy or cheap, writes Dr Dino Imhof, Head of Turbocharging Solutions, ABB Turbocharging

8 Dr Dino Imhof, Head of Turbocharging Solutions, ABB Turbocharging

With protests taking place around the world to help raise awareness of climate change, the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) stringent decarbonization targets for the maritime industry have never seemed more relevant.

The Initial IMO GHG Strategy sets out ambitions for the maritime industry to reduce CO2 emissions by 40% in 2030, by 70% in 2050 and reduce total GHG emissions by at least 50% in 2050 compared to 2008 levels.

FINDING ALTERNATIVES The maritime sector currently requires around 270 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) per year, and the biggest challenge is finding viable alternatives to current fossil fuels.

Biofuels have been discussed but questions remain: sustainability, traceability, the overall GHG reduction impact as well as the availability of biofuels in sufficient volumes for shipping are just a few of the details to be ironed out.

For example, it’s projected that 6.3 - 7.8 Mtoe of advanced biofuels will be produced in the EU in 2030 - which won’t even be enough to supply the business-as-usual EU road and rail energy demand in that year. Other industries including the road transportation and aviation sectors are also interested in biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels. Full electrification is another approach, but difficult in deep-sea shipping due to the large distances, the high energy demand for powering deep-sea ships and space requirements.

While biofuels are limited in the amounts available, and electrification might play a bigger role in short-sea and inland shipping, fuels based on hydrogen with a zero or net zero carbon footprint are key if the deep-sea shipping industry is to drastically reduce GHG emissions.

When considering fuel options for that do not contribute to atmospheric carbon, there is a distinction to be made

10 | APRIL 2020

‘‘

Synthetic methane or synthetic diesel are more easily manageable. But they are also likely to be more expensive due to the greater energy losses involved in their production a key factor in determining the cost of new fuels between zero and net-zero carbon fuels. Zero-carbon fuels are hydrogen and ammonia derived from renewable, noncarbon electricity sources such as wind, solar or water. Netzero carbon fuel is any kind of hydrocarbon that is produced from CO2 that is captured from the atmosphere in the same quantity as will be released during combustion.

All these energy sources have hydrogen as a starting point.

There are four ways shipping might make use of hydrogen as a zero-carbon fuel. It can be pressurised, liquified, loaded into a liquid organic hydrogen carrier or converted into ammonia.

These are the zero-carbon pathways. The net-zero carbon pathways - green methanol, synthetic methane or synthetic diesel, for example - take hydrogen and add captured carbon.

Each pathway, zero and net-zero, has advantages and disadvantages. Hydrogen and ammonia are more difficult to handle on board a ship. Synthetic methane or synthetic diesel are more easily manageable. But they are also likely to be more expensive due to the greater energy losses involved in their production - a key factor in determining the cost of new fuels.

Today, the shipping industry is not yet able to decide which

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

LEADER BRIEFING

8 Fuels based on hydrogen with a zero or net zero carbon footprint are key if the deep-sea shipping industry is to drastically reduce GHG emissions

of these fuel pathways will be most viable. We must therefore remain open to as many options as possible. But regardless of the fuel, zero-carbon hydrogen will be a building block.

USING ELECTROLYSIS Hydrogen can be produced through electrolysis using electricity from renewable energy sources like wind, solar or hydro. During electrolysis, water is split into hydrogen and oxygen. There are different forms of electrolysis, including alkaline (ALK), proton exchange membrane (PEM) and high temperature electrolysis.

ALK electrolyzers are well established and the most widespread form of electrolysis for hydrogen production. PEM electrolyzers are commercially available, are more flexible in operation and are more reactive than current alkaline electrolyzer technology. Generally, electrolysis has efficiency levels between 60-80%. Low temperature electrolyzers like ALK and PEM currently have an efficiency level of about 65% on average. Higher efficiency levels can be achieved through optimization, but this also leads to an increase in costs.

High temperature solid oxide electrolyzers (SOE) may offer the potential of improved energy efficiency (80-90%), but it’s a process that still needs to mature. While PEM electrolyzers require significant amounts of platinum for their catalyst, SOE production mainly requires ceramics and fewer rare materials.

With existing efficiency levels, electricity supply needs to be almost 100% from renewable sources to have a net reduction effect for shipping. It will take a long time until most public grids are fully renewable, however, and other more efficient processes are in the pipeline. The alternative is to produce hydrogen at dedicated production plants, which will also take time and significant upfront investment. This means there’s a risk that hydrogen from electrolysis will not be available on time and with sufficient volume to have the required impact for the maritime industry’s 2050 ambitions.

USING PYROLYSIS With large-scale electrolysis and renewable electricity in short supply, at least in the near future, other hydrogen production pathways could offer an alternative for a transitional phase.

Using carbon capture and storage (CCS) with steam methane reforming (SMR), or carbon sequestration with pyrolysis, could enable a faster transition to a large-scale hydrogen supply for many industries. Even though these pathways do not produce hydrogen with a zero-carbon footprint, they do offer the possibility of reducing emissions in the short-term, with the

ability to transition later on to a production based solely on renewable energy sources.

Today, 95% of hydrogen production is fossil-fuel based, with SMR the most common production process. Mainly natural gas is used for SMR with high temperature and pressure, and the help of a nickel catalyst. The captured CO2 from the exhaust gases of SMR could be used in other industry sectors or it could be stored. However, CCS is not mature enough, and it’s also an energy-consuming process once transport and storage is factored in, requiring the establishment of a sound and standardized regulatory framework and monitoring to avoid negative environmental impacts or carbon leakage.

Hydrogen can also be produced using pyrolysis, which is the thermal decomposition of carbon-based materials in the absence of oxygen. During pyrolysis, carbon is extracted in its pure form as a powder (char). Unlike carbon dioxide, the logistics for pure carbon handling and disposal are simple, and long-term underground storage is easily possible. It can also be used in the chemical industry. Production costs may be lower than the hydrogen pathway from renewable electricity via electrolysis, at least for a transition period.

COMPETING FOR HYDROGEN The maritime sector will be in competition for hydrogen with various sectors globally, and many industries which currently still produce hydrogen from natural gas need to consider switching to zero carbon energy sources for hydrogen production in the future.

The growing global population will also require its share; the entire natural gas pipeline infrastructure required for heating and power generation purposes on a seasonal basis must be fed by renewable energy carriers based on hydrogen. Additionally, other transport sectors like aviation, off-highway or road transport are also looking for solutions besides electrification to reduce emissions.

However, renewable electricity is limited. Any growth in renewables seems mostly reserved to deliver fossil-free electricity to support increasing demands on the public grid.

That means the maritime industry will need huge investment if it’s to meet the IMO’s ambitious targets using hydrogen as a fuel source, with dedicated production facilities required to generate renewable energy for the large-scale production of hydrogen. Using pyrolysis to produce hydrogen is one way to work towards those targets and still ensure fuel supply while renewables infrastructure is being built up. But it will not be cheap or easy.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

APRIL 2020 | 11

TWO-STROKE ENGINES

WINGD HYBRIDISATION PROGRAMME TAKES FLIGHT

Image courtesy of WinGD

Stefan Goranov, Program Manager - Hybridisation at engine designer WinGD discusses efficiency gains and the next steps in the engine designer’s hybridisation programme

While the energy-saving opportunities offered by hybrid installations for certain types of short-sea vessels became increasingly evident over the course of 2019, the exploration of hybrid solutions for vessels equipped with two-stroke engines has been slower to develop.

Amid increasing interest in the possibilities of energy storage systems aboard larger vessels, Winterthur-based engine designer WinGD is about to announce a number of system integration services, enabling transformative solutions for ship owners, operators, and yards.

WinGD is introducing a number of hybridisation and related services for its customers in 2020, Stefan Goranov, Program Manager - Hybridisation at engine designer WinGD told The Motor Ship in an interview in March.

NEW HYBRIDISATION SOLUTION Stefan Goranov revealed that WinGD was about to launch a series of services, enabling solutions for battery hybrid ships with two-stroke main engines, in response to customer demand. This applies to different degree of electrification of the ship power system, ranging from coupling the main engine with a PTO and enabling peak-shaving functionality for constant-load engine operation, to dimensioning and integration of battery and other components, including a fullsystem energy management system, aiming for the most efficient operation of the system as a whole.

“Following the successful conclusion of our technical use case studies, we can demonstrate that the integration of energy storage systems aboard a number of vessels with two-stroke main engines can deliver considerable savings, with a payback period of less than 5 years,” said Goranov.

The engine designer has initially evaluated the impact of

12 | APRIL 2020

8 The results of the technical use case revealed that increasing battery capacity above a certain threshold resulted in diminishing returns

hybridising container feeder vessels, LNG carriers, product carriers and pure car and truck carriers (PCTC).

Goranov noted that WinGD has already begun to offer some of its system integration services. Indeed, the engine designer was already collaborating in several pioneering newbuilding projects.

He declined to disclose the progress of concrete discussions at this stage.

ENGINE MANAGEMENT CHANGES The introduction of energy storage systems and energy management systems aboard a vessel will have knock-on effects across the vessel’s systems.

One of the largest changes was philosophical, Goranov noted. “While OEMs previously focused on maximising efficiencies of individual components and sub-systems, we are now looking at maximising the overall efficiency of the system.”

There were a number of system modifications, Goranov noted. For example, the main engines’ speed controller functionality needed to be enhanced to permit efficient peak shaving. It has previously not been logically interfaced to the electrical machine on the shaft line for this purpose.

The speed controller function was an interesting example of where greater interaction between systems, even on a small scale, could lead to noticeably improved efficiency.

Depending on the project requirements, this feature could be either enabled on the main engine side or implemented on a controller provided within the scope of a 3rd party system integrator. In the latter case, WinGD will provide an interface specification to ensure the optimum dynamic interaction among the systems.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

TWO-STROKE ENGINES Wider changes could be expected in engine tuning.

Today’s engine tuning reflects the modes of operation when the main engine must alone provide propulsion power in a wide range of speed setpoints. This will change with the additional degrees of freedom enabled by alternative energy sources, increasing the importance of the tuning of the whole integrated system, so all the components work in harmony together, Goranov noted.

“The weight of impact of some areas on the BSFC maps will decrease, and even become irrelevant. This is an opportunity to streamline the operational field in certain areas on the map and aim for higher overall efficiency in a system context, whilst fulfilling the IMO requirements for BSFC-NOx trade offs.”

TECHNICAL USE CASE RESULTS The launch of the system integration services represent the successful conclusion of project to identify the componentlevel energy demand aboard individual vessels. This data was combined with ship-specific operational profiles, including route specific information to include seasonal weather and environmental conditions to form a detailed analysis of data aboard a given vessel.

Initially, value of hybrid installations with two-stroke main engines was demonstrated aboard four main types of vessels: pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs), container feeder vessels, product carriers and LNG carriers.

“The initial focus of the project was to model the interaction of dual-fuelled vessels with hybrid energy systems, aiming to maximising the usage of LNG as a fuel due to its superior environmental performance, but the study also examined the potential benefits of combining hybrid installations with conventional diesel-fuelled systems,” Goranov explained.

The results of the studies revealed that when the system is designed and controlled optimally, overall efficiency and environmental performance were noticeably improved. “A conservative case study for container feeder vessel sailing in the North Sea and Baltic, equipped with diesel-fuelled auxiliary engines and a WinGD dual-fuel main engine, concludes that annual onboard diesel consumption could be reduced by about 68 percent, while the gas consumption increases by 22 per cent. As a result, the CO2 emissions from the ship are around 8 percent lower.” said Goranov, adding that the results varied according to component efficiency characteristics, battery capacities and types.

In this particular case, the system was modelled with a 7XRTflex50DF rated 10.1 MW @124rpm main engine, coupled with a 1.3 MW shaft generator and 0.8 MWh battery pack. As an input, measured real-live power demand profiles were used.

The technical use case results varied between the different vessels. Goranov noted that where short-sea vessels’ operational profiles involved frequent stops, the potential savings were higher.

Container feeder vessels were a particularly interesting class, owing to the frequency of their port calls, but vesselspecific and route-specific factors also played a role.

The energy demand from an individual container vessel’s reefer demand varied according to the number of reefer slots, their capacity utilisation and even environmental factors. Refrigeration requirements in the Caribbean differ from northern European routes. A feeder vessel with 300 slots might require over 2MWh, based on an average 7kWh per plug demand, The Motorship noted.

The results of the technical use case revealed that there was a “sweet spot” in the relationship between investments and returns on investment.

“Oversizing components leads to diminishing returns,”

‘‘

The weight of impact of some areas on the BSFC maps will decrease, and even become irrelevant. This is an opportunity to streamline the operational field in certain areas on the map and aim for higher overall efficiency in a system context, whilst fulfilling the IMO requirements for BSFC-NOx trade offs said Goranov. “We found that there is marginal benefit in, for example, doubling battery capacity. On the other side, under-sizing them might expose to safety-relevant risks and lead to their premature ageing if the charging/discharging pattern is not optimum. It is imperative that all the system components, especially the main two-stroke engine, are appropriately sized in the design stage, tuned, and later optimally controlled as a system in operation.”

The study identified the use of batteries as spinning reserves as one particular area where auxiliary loads could be optimised, permitting one auxiliary engine to be used at a more efficient load point during harbour operations, rather than operating two or more gensets at lower loads during thruster manoeuvring.

Other possibilities include manoeuvring for zero-emission propulsion in port.

The optimisation of auxiliary engine loads and reduced running hours would lead to reduced maintenance costs and extended service lives across the whole system.

The study found that the installation of energy storage systems would also lead to wider system-wide benefits. All the studies analysed reductions in the installed capacity of gensets aboard vessels. “We see the potential to optimise the number of gensets aboard 174k LNG carriers from four to three, for example,” said Goranov, adding that vessels with lighter energy consumption profiles could adopt two genset configurations.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

8 Stefan Goranov, Program Manager - Hybridisation at WinGD

APRIL 2020 | 13

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TWO-STROKE ENGINES

‘‘

The platform will allow us to identify the best performing system configurations and control strategies, visualising different behaviours while changing the boundary conditions for a given route

SIMULATION PACKAGE This includes the launch of a simulation platform, which will allow customers to visualise the potential impact of integrating a battery, PTO/PTI, and other related systems aboard a specific vessel.

“The platform will allow us to identify the best performing system configurations and control strategies, visualising different behaviours while changing the boundary conditions for a given route,” said Goranov.

The successful development and release of a modular fullsystem simulation platform containing transient-capable engine and electromechanical component models represents a significant achievement by WinGD. Goranov mentioned in passing that comparing the operational performance of hybrid vessels with conventional equivalents had required the development of a series of statistical references.

WinGD has adopted a distinctive approach during the development of the simulation platform, preferring to implement a hybrid physical and data driven approach over the data model-led approaches favoured by other researchers.

The physical modelling during the project relied on the development of complex hardware-in-the-loop test systems at Winterthur. In a further sign of WinGD’s commitment to hybrid systems, the company is planning to enhance its global test centre near Shanghai with a full-scale advanced hybrid setup, permitting validation of new features and continuous enhancements, as well as bringing the real-life experience of operating such a system closer to potential customers.

The engine designer has also developed significant inhouse expertise, collaborating with OEMs, ship design and research institutions in China, and a wider network of Swiss and EU research institutions.

“Although this is still a new area for WinGD, together with our innovative partners in the field of system integration, energy management and optimisation, we are striving to set the standard for hybrid ocean-going ships with two-stroke engines,” said Goranov.

Image courtesy of WinGD

The studies had narrowly focused on the system-wide energy requirements aboard the vessel, but potential reductions in main energy power requirements, subject to minimum propulsion power requirements, could allow main engines to be down-sized.

This would offer wider benefits to ship owners in terms of engine room space requirements, enabling the installation of additional equipment without negatively impacting the cargo capacity and ship design. This offers particular advantages to vessels that face regulatory pressures from the implementation of EEDI Phase 3.

The implementation of EEDI Phase 3 for container ships, general cargo ships, gas carriers and LNG carriers is expected to occur in 2022.

PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE The highly detailed models of the ship’s systems developed

by WinGD during the project form the basis of a next stage of development. WinGD is planning to repurpose these models to model the operational performance of the system.

The Motorship notes that WinGD and technical university ETH Zürich have been collaborating in the development for combined physical and data-driven models for predictive maintenance for the engine designer’s two-stroke engines.

One of the advantages of the thermodynamic models developed by WinGD is that they can produce accurate results in transient operational conditions due to the deployment of phenomenological models and their inherent extrapolation capabilities. This is actually the outperforming factor in comparison to solely data-driven model approaches.

However, the data-driven models enable predictions and prognosis of inefficiencies and failures. WinGD’s approach captures the best of both methods to maximise the system capabilities, Goranov concluded

8 WinGD is launching a simulation platform, which will allow customers to visualise the potential impact of integrating a battery, PTO/PTI, and other related systems aboard a specific vessel

‘‘

Although this is still a new area for WinGD, together with our innovative partners in the field of system integration, energy management and optimisation, we are striving to set the standard for hybrid ocean-going ships with two-stroke engines

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

APRIL 2020 | 15

DESIGN FOR PERFORMANCE

TIME FOR A PLASTICS RETHINK?

Photo: InfraCore

As FRP projects addressing fire, joining and flexibility issues progress, Stevie Knight asks whether the time is ripe for wider adoption of large-structure composites in shipbuilding.

The 7,000-car carrier Siem Cicero is the first, and at time of writing, the only ship with composite tweendecks. Built in Croatia, these cover a 12,600m2 area, “the same size as twoand-a-half football fields” says Vito Radolovic of Flow Ship Design. While this reduced the deck weight by 230 tonnes, Radolovic underlines that the advantages are far more radical: in the case of Cicero, “the changed stability resulted in a reduction in ballast in the bottom of the double hull”. As a result, Cicero gained capacity for another 800 tonnes of cargo - but it also knocked between 4% and 5% off the fuel bill for the same load.

How much did it cost? In total, it came out slightly more expensive than a traditional deck “but given that it’s saving around two tonnes of fuel a day, payback’s inside a year or 18 months”, he says.

Unsurprisingly, others are also eyeing the advantages: Oshima Shipbuilding and Compocean have developed a moveable tweendeck: this could be paired with composite hatch covers - both innovations promise shorter port stays as composite is much lighter and easier to handle.

There are also numerous benefits from incorporating wetroom, aircon and electrical channels into a moulded internal structure, making it particularly useful for cruiseship outfitting. However, while Carnival demonstrated FRP (fibre reinforced polymer) components result in a steep weight reduction, reportedly a tonne a cabin, these went back to traditional, piecemeal metal fixing approaches. “A much more effective method is to create a big ship block incorporating all the fittings, noise and thermal insulation, including the strip for attaching it to the steel hull,” says Laurent Morel of InfraCore.

GOING ALL THE WAY But what about taking FRP further? While it makes sense to outsource replicating items such as multiple cabin components and the thousand-odd, 11m FRP sections that make up Siem Cicero’s tweendeck, others have decided to hit the learning curve in its entirety.

It may be a big step outside the comfort zone for those that get involved: “You only have to mention composites in a

16 | APRIL 2020

8 Infrastructure projects show that crossover technology could benefit marine applications

regular shipyard, and everyone starts looking really worried,” says Radolovic. “You have to convince people that composites are both safe - and reliable,” adds Morel.

In fact, the FibreShip project (funded by the ERC/ Horizon2020 programme), has created a demonstrator ship block for an 85m special-purpose vessel at the iXblue shipyard.

It was no small task: iXblue project manager Edouard Waldura explains that the demonstrator bulkheads and decks were constructed from around 1,000m² of flat panels, while the hull sections were made from two, massive 100m² resin infusions with carbon fibre reinforcements.

Putting it together, he says was “a kind of lego”... except the yard had to begin by making the various components from scratch. Waldura adds that comparing it to the traditional manufacturing approach, “it’s as if we had to start by producing the metal sheet in the shipyard”.

Likewise, the RAMSSES hull-section demonstrator (another ERC/Horizon2020 funded project) will also be built at Damen’s steel production facility in the Netherlands. As with the FibreShip programme, the elements of a midship block for an 80m patrol vessel will be created onsite: InfraCore is to construct the decks, bulkheads and helideck.

Morel’s composite infrastructure experience gives him confidence that the processes are transferable: “People say, there’s dust, no climate control... but dealing with these things isn’t rocket science: there are quality management protocols in place and material solutions available,” he explains. Neither is size an issue: while these shipbuilding projects are investigating the build of an 80m or 85m hull, some of InfraCore’s bridge projects dwarf this by thousands of cubic metres, one in particular seeing 25 tonnes of resin pumped in a single infusion.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES Still, ship development demands more than scale; it requires finesse. FibreShip lead, Alfonso Jurado of Técnicas y Servicios de Ingeniería (TSI), underscores that the design strategy can’t directly be translated from that of traditional ships, mainly because composites aren’t as stiff as steel.

This has serious implications. Too much flex and the vessel

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

DESIGN FOR PERFORMANCE

DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES While the more standard sandwich approach takes structural foam and surfaces it with an FRP skin, that’s not the only, or arguably the best, method.

For example, Fibrecore has developed a technology which takes non-structural foam bricks, wrapping FRP around them and stacking these in a specific way: the resin infusion then “creates a multi-beam, sandwich-like structure”, explains Morel.

It does have impressive resistance to impact fatigue - even on heavy-duty infrastructure installations: “The foam is nothing more than a filler, so denting it has no effect. We’ve proved that even a heavily damaged and fatigue-cycled motorway bridge could still keep going for at least 50 years without repair,” says Morel.

There are other benefits: it’s generally both cheaper and lighter than a conventional sandwich structure and it also answers a few quality worries for class societies. During vacuum infusion cures, fabrics have a nasty habit of pulling toward each other: unfortunately, the resulting wrinkles create issues for the final product’s load distribution. “This is minimised by our use of smaller, discontinuous segments,” says Morel, adding “it also means delamination becomes inconsequential as cracks can’t propagate across the structure”.

‘‘

The foam is nothing more than a filler, so denting it has no effect. We’ve proved that even a heavily damaged and fatigue-cycled motorway bridge could still keep going for at least 50 years without repair Interestingly, the internal webbing creates pockets that can be utilised in creative ways. For areas of high load transfer, it’s possible to co-infuse part of the structure with a resin: this results in monolithic zones which can, for example, be used for bolted connections: a possibility explored on a composite containership rudder.

Other technologies are also stepping across into ship construction. Pultrusion, explains Radolovic, is a continuous manufacturing process which can create a beam of any length in a fraction of the time of other methods. It works by impregnating fibres (straight, matt or multiaxial) with a thermoset binder and pulling them through a heated die to cure - the profiles are simply sawed to length on exit. While pultrusion increases weight in comparison to a sandwich vacuum infusion, it’s still lighter than steel and this process promises to reduce deck construction costs even further, potentially to a half or even a third of typical, composite builds. As a result, Flow Ship Design is aiming to utilise the technique for its subsequent deck developments within the RAMSSES project.

http://www.FibreShip.eu

will be stressed by the humps and troughs of long-period waves: the so-called hogging-sagging effect. Rigidity, therefore, has to be designed-in.

To beat this, “efforts were focused on increasing the inertia of the structure by improving the hull girder response” explains Jurado. That resulted in twin-walled carbon fibre elements that lend the design the necessary reinforcement.

Despite the innovative nature of the build, the 11m by 11m by 8.6m ship block shows an impressive 70% drop in weight against the steel version. This would, carried through to the entire vessel, result in a 30% overall lightship reduction.

BONDING In the past, bonding has been limited to non-structural elements, but taking composites forward means the joints now have to support the global strength of the vessel, points out Stephane Paboeuf of Bureau Veritas.

Interestingly, the FibreShip demonstrator was built in two separate parts to experiment with the block junction, explains Waldura. The flange and resin infusion strategy came through yard tests successfully.

There are many different types of join, and Morel says that crossovers from bridge infrastructure demonstrate that a mixture of joining approaches, bolting, bonding and shapelocked, yield the best results overall “as this gives you a number of levels of redundancy”. Further, he adds it can also allow for dismountable structures, which makes repair or replacement a lot easier.

Obviously, load-bearing joints hold a particular interest for class societies. “The challenge is to correctly assess the design and effectiveness of the bonding zone,” says Paboeuf.

This doesn’t just apply to large composite structures, it’s also necessary for metal and FRP hybrid joints, especially as combining materials promises to open up the market.

Uniting different materials does demand a little care: “For example, if you make a fully infused, rigid hybrid connection, you need to make sure the thermal expansion characteristic is the same as the surrounding steel,” says Morel. Likewise, the composite’s vibration transmission should “stay out of the excitation frequency of the adjoining structure”, but he adds that dampening is relatively easily achieved.

QUALIFY, a co-funded INTERREG 2SeasMers Zeeën project (properly titled Enabling Qualification of Hybrid Joints for Lightweight and Safe Maritime Transport), aims at a realistic, predictable joining strategy. “We want to develop an engineering approach to bonding that can be practically applied by the shipyards. And for class to be confident that it’s robust,” says Paboeuf.

Still, these yards are aggressive environments. One issue is control of the joining surfaces, protecting them against chemical or water ingress. Here, innovation is coming to the rescue: moisture-tolerant resins crossing over from the aerospace, automotive and railway industries are yielding both better mechanical properties alongside a reduced demand for surface preparation.

But it’s not all about using expensive resin or carbon fibre: for example, InfraCore’s strength lies in the structure “so we

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

8 FibreShip project demonstrator

APRIL 2020 | 17

Navigating 2020 and beyond

Engage us, challenge us totallubmarine.com

DESIGN FOR PERFORMANCE

FIRE The SOLAS rules for fire safety today mandate the building of structural elements in steel or apply a long, costly ‘equivalence’ safety analysis, which may even then be rejected by the flag state. This, says Paboeuf, “is a challenge for development”.

Although revision of the MSC 1574 interim guidelines on FRP structures is due in 2021, there’s a lot to prove.

Of course, the big concern is that a ship could behave like a plastic bottle on a hotplate - this is a misconception “as fire is typically a local event and global softening of the ship hull and other load-bearing structures is improbable”, says Tuula Hakkarainen of VTT. Further, she adds the matrix polymer of an FRP is usually a thermosetting material that does not melt.

But as Hakkarainen admits, whereas steels can retain their strength up to around 600C, FRP can lose its load-bearing capacity at relatively low temperatures and can itself combust, potentially contributing to the fire and production of noxious gases.

Hakkarainen’s colleague Antti Paajanen points out there’s a very wide range of composite materials with different characteristics which could be developed further: positive results came from tests on specially developed fire retarding components under the EU Fire-Resist programme.

‘‘

. . . the fire performance and thermal insulation of both load-bearing structures and joints deserve special attention As a result, Paboeuf explains there’s a concerted move to introduce the more adaptable European construction industry classification: the notation including fire resistance (R), integrity (E) and insulating properties (I).

But Paajanen underlines it’s not quite as simple as “this plastic will lose these mechanical properties at this temperature” as FRP could be put together in multilayered sandwiches to ensure that the load-bearing capacity is maintained - even if the initially exposed layers have already softened. While it does require further testing at scale, both the FibreShip and the Fire-Resist projects demonstrated that laminate structures (with rockwool insulation or intumescent coatings) could pass the ‘load-bearing fire-resisting bulkhead 60’ test, holding up for over an hour against a standard timetemperature curve.

Photo: InfraCore

tend to stick with cheap, effective glass-fibre and polyester wherever possible”, says Morel. Of course, a lot comes down to technique: a one-shot resin infusion at scale has to be extremely thorough.

Despite the learning curve, it’s ‘do-able’ says Morel. He underlines that the desired results are currently achievable and above all, replicable in real-world conditions: for example, InfraCore has successfully installed a Dutch bridge which had to cope with bonding temperatures at minus-10C. However, QUALIFY is looking beyond approval and design guidelines to joints’ long term behaviour and failure modes.

Certainly, saltwater, UV and other elements can degrade the structure over the 25 or 30 year lifetime of the ship, but the effects may not be as apparent as old-fashioned rust.

According to Paboeuf, accelerated ageing tests should, therefore, yield a crucial data set: “If you know what the mechanical properties of your structure will be at the end of life, you can optimise the design while still retaining your safety coefficient.”

Still, it’s a balance: the big motivation for composite construction is to get the weight down, so a fire-proof design has to avoid accumulating the kilos.

Given this, it’s more a case of how, not if, composites can be used: for example, both Paajanen and Hakkarainen stress “the fire performance and thermal insulation of both loadbearing structures and joints deserve special attention”.

As such, ship design demands multiple risk mitigation strategies: it’s not just choosing the correct components and structure, but it will also require evacuation planning and the use of active fire protection measures such as sprinklers. “It needs ship-level as well as material-level safety consideration,” concludes Paboeuf.

8 Size no issue: InfraCore pumped 25 tonnes of resin in a single infusion, without a cleanroom environment

REFERENCES FibreShip http://www.FibreShip.eu/ (grant agreement 723360) and RAMSSES https://www.ramsses-project.eu/ (grant agreement 723246) both receive European Research Council (ERC) funding under EU Horizon 2020 QUALIFY https://www.qualify-euproject.com, Enabling Qualification of Hybrid Joints for Lightweight and Safe Maritime Transport”, co-funded by the INTERREG 2SeasMers Zeeën programme Fire-Resist http://www.Fire-Resist.eu (grant agreement 246037) funded under EU FP7-NMP programme

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

APRIL 2020 | 19

DIGITALISATION

OEM DATA COLLABORATION PLATFORM BUILDS MOMENTUM A new data collaboration platform, mýa, offers wider benefits, such as integration between OEM data, beyond immediate cybersecurity improvements, Dr Alan Atkins tells The Motorship

8 The mýa platform is intended to sit between the OEMs’ data vaults/ platforms and the application layer, providing a single interface that integrates all the OEM data streams

The rapid evolution of data visualisation software and analytical tools is paving the way for rapid advances in performance analysis. Improving communication between different systems has also led to improvements in fuel and lubricant consumption leading to better emissions, with knock-on benefits in terms of opex and capex costs.

Dr Alan Atkins, the CEO of a not-for-profit organisation mýa Connection GmbH, has seen improved cooperation between different component suppliers lead to tangible benefits for customers in the Marine, Energy generation and the oil and gas sectors.

Having developed significant expertise in the Internet of Things (IOT) area, he was recruited by MAN Energy Solutions to head up a development project focused on launching a data collaboration platform, open to all and in parallel to CEON, a performance related maintenance solution for MAN ES’s business in Augsburg.

Atkins cited the example of oil refineries or petrochemical plants where different OEMs collaborated to achieve incremental operational improvements.

“In some ways, the oil and gas sector realised the potential benefits of greater data availability and operational synergies between different OEMs earlier than the marine business,” Dr Atkins noted.

A SINGLE INTERFACE FOR OEM DATA One of the ways that OEMs could be encouraged to share data was through the development of a robust secure common data collaboration platform, Atkins suggested.

20 | APRIL 2020

At present, solutions providers offer digital technologies and services which allow the optimisation of the performance of their systems using real time data and analytics derived from data from the application or sensor layer.

However, Atkins noted that owing to the number of OEMs and proprietary systems aboard a vessel, operators are faced with a complicated and uncoordinated view of the various equipment that they operate and maintain, with numerous logins and views.

The mýa platform was intended to sit between the OEMs data vaults/platforms and the application layer, providing a single interface that integrates all the OEM data streams to provide a complete system view and facilitating analytical investigations on the total or part system so inter-equipment relationships can be understood and optimised.

It would also strongly contribute to ensuring that data from the application or sensor layer complied with OT cybersecurity requirements that are due to enter effect in 2021. mýa is also able to work in line with data conforming to the standard ISO 19848.

ENSURING DATA INTEGRITY However, the real advantage of the system is not from the development of a single user interface, or even from cybersecurity advances. Atkins admitted candidly that other solutions providers are also seeking to develop unitary interfaces. “mýa allows OEMs to agree on common standards, which in turn allows standardisation and compatibility,” Atkins said.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

DIGITALISATION The platform applies a common metadata structure to data supplied by different OEM systems, and also aligns common time stamping system.

One of the key advantages of the platform lay in the control over data that the platform architecture introduces.

The key to the system is that it relies on permissions from clients, and from collaborating OEMs, before data can be shared. “All data exchanges are strictly subject to permissions and contracts given by the respective users and members.

You can only see what you are authorised to see.”

The security of the system is an integral part of the solution, which has been installed on every new MAN engine over the course of the past year.

“We have demonstrated the system’s integrity over the past year, including data streams from other assets.”

Atkins stressed that the integrity of the granular data from the application level is ensured as it is saved within the secure OEM data vaults, rather than within the mýa system.

A UNIQUE STRUCTURE While MAN ES had played a leading role in establishing mýa, the common platform was intended to benefit asset owners, OEMs as well as the industry overall.

“By coming together and agreeing common data standards, we can facilitate integration,” Atkins noted. The mýa platform is open to all, collaborating and competing OEMs alike as well as the asset

‘‘

We have demonstrated the system’s integrity over the past year, including data streams from other assets owners. The system itself was not intended to be linked to any specific engine or equipment manufacturer, Atkins stressed.

“We are not a commercial operation and expect to be able to provide the interface to users at a minimal cost.” Atkins noted that he expected the cost of developing the platform and commercialising it to be borne by the founder members of the project. MAN ES was the first founder but soon to be joined by others in the project. “We are looking for between 5 -10 founders to take a place at the governing table, giving direction and development options for the future.”

Atkins also noted that the development of a common data sharing infrastructure was expected to significantly assist a number of smaller and medium-sized ship owners and operators who were undertaking the development of vessel optimisation programmes. “mýa is intended to remove friction points and help the industry to operate more efficiently, and move faster towards realising the full potential of digital technologies,” Atkins concluded.

8 “mýa allows OEMs to agree on common standards, which in turn allows standardisation and compatibility,” Dr Alan Atkins said Picture courtesy of Dr Atkins

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APRIL 2020 | 21

FUELS & LUBRICANTS

IMO 2020: A MONUMENTAL CHANGE FOR THE INDUSTRY Muhammad Usman, LR’s FOBAS product manager assesses the impact of quality variance of VLSFO on machinery equipment and offers some recommendations going forward IMO 2020, a global sulphur cap of 0.50% on marine fuels, has had a marked impact on stakeholders in maritime and beyond. Before this landmark regulation came into force on 1st January, concerns were raised by different industry stakeholders regarding availability, quality and pricing of compliant fuels as well as the consistent implementation of the regulation and how it would impact vessel operation.

However, since the switchover the industry has shown its well-known resilience and generally concluded ‘so far so good’ without any major issues.

How has the regulation impacted operations?

As the majority of the world fleet was prepared for this change, the message from most ship operators is that the switchover has gone smoothly without any major issues.

Nevertheless, huge variability in the quality of 0.50% fuel, has still caught a few by surprise. Excluding fuels which are considered unmanageable such as those that considerably exceed the ISO 8217 limit, ships have had to make adjustments to ensure smooth operations, whether that’s onboard fuel segregation, temperature management at various points of the fuel system, or combustion performance.

Since the sulphur cap entered into force, Lloyd’s Register’s (LR) fuel oil bunker analysis and advisory service (FOBAS) has reported various issues including excessive sludge generation in purifiers, unstable combustion and loss of fuel pressure at engine inlet. In one case, fuel with a pour point of 27 oC solidified in an unheated tank loaded from Singapore, however when the ship sailed to a colder climate (<10 oC) it was unable to transfer fuel from storage to a settling tank. In cases where fuel solidifies, ships are advised to remove the fuel from the tank manually, which is often highly resource intensive and can cost ship operators time and money.

What has been the impact to the machinery equipment due to the quality variance of VLSFOs? Some ships using VLSFO have reported problems to FOBAS at various points of its fuel machinery system, such as blocked fuel filters, sludging at separators, loss of pressure at pumps and excessive wear of engine cylinder components. In the past, approximately 5% of FOBAS investigations comprised of issues related to damaged and excessive wear of liner/ piston. However, since the switchover, we have seen an increase to 40% of cases involving liner scuffing issues on two-stroke main engines with piston ring malfunction.

For example, one ship reported excessive wear and damage to the piston rings. The subsequent investigation found that the feed rate was too excessive for the operating condition, which is dependent on the fuel’s sulphur content, Base Number (BN) of the cylinder lube oil and the condition type of the engine, as well as incorrect material in the piston rings, with fuel quality being a possible contributory factor.

The ship found the two-stroke piston rings of four units jammed/stuck in the ring grooves resulting in a blow-by,

Q A

22 | APRIL 2020

Image courtesy of LR FOBAS

Q A

which continued to exacerbate the problem causing disruption to the lubricant film and increased the scavenge temperature. A probable reason for this was poor atomisation by the injectors, often due to incorrect viscosity and degraded injection performance of high-pressure pumps and injectors.

The ship was advised to take the following measures to improve the situation: 5 Check/overhaul fuel injectors to ensure optimum performance 5 Ensure fuel injection viscosity is maintained as per OEM guidelines 5 The delta between the maximum pressure during combustion in a cylinder (Pmax) and maximum compression pressure (Pcomp) which is measured just before the fuel injection, is maintained as per OEM’s operations manual. High difference could indicate blow-by and lower than usual difference may indicate an issue with the injection timings.

5 Draw regular scavenge drain oil samples to evaluate the levels of liner wear, ring groove wear, soot, and residual base number of cylinder oil.

5 Regularly inspect the piston rings and liners through scavenge ports.

5 Monitor operation of fuel purifiers to reduce the possibility of catfines and/or water going into the engine and causing excessive wear.

5 The choice of appropriate base number cylinder lubricant with optimum feed rate and dispercancy characteristic based on VLSFO quality and operating conditions.

The ship implemented actions based on above guidance and no further problems have been reported. In most cases, vessel technical staff tend to be in the best position to evaluate and make judgements based on the suggested course of actions.

8 Evidence of fuel solidifying in an unheated tank

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

FUELS & LUBRICANTS Q A

What does this mean for owners/crew?

Q A

Is there an increased risk of downtime?

Ships machinery equipment is quite resilient with redundancies built into the system. Though in extreme cases, ships may experience complete engine breakdown with loss of propulsion, a potentially hazardous outcome.

Since 1 January, LR FOBAS has not reported or been informed of such an extreme case whereby a ship has experienced a complete engine breakdown though there have been a number of operational issues, some of which have been described in this article. So, it is imperative for a ship’s crew to be able to bring the system back from a degraded position to a running order. Some ships may have to spend more time on maintenance when in port which may impact the vessel

Image courtesy of LR FOBAS

For a ship’s crew and fuel buyers, there is a new norm in terms of how they order the fuel and how it is managed onboard. The era where the majority of fuels were 380 cSt and systems were set up for that fuel grade has now ended.

LR’s FOBAS data indicates that around 52% of VLSFO are in the range of 80-180 cSt, whilst only 18% are above 180 cSt. This shows a massive shift with viscosity, widely spread between lower viscosity ranges. This is similar to the density of the fuels with larger variances observed. Therefore, a ship’s crew needs to be proactive; firstly, they need to have information about the quality of the fuel coming onboard, and then make fuel system adjustments to suit fuels characteristics for smooth operation.

8 Two-stroke piston rings stuck in the ring grooves

schedule. However, this would depend on a number of factors, with most ships being able to complete certain maintenance tasks within scheduled time frame.

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시그니처 조합은 심볼, 국문로고타입, 영문로고타입 등과 함께 일정한 규칙에 의해 조합된 것을 말하며, 각각의 요소를 임의로 조합하여 사용하는 것을 금한다. 시그니처의 활용 시에는 반드시 본 메뉴얼의 지침대로 사용한다.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

APRIL 2020 | 23

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FUELS & LUBRICANTS

FUEL SUPPLY AFTER IMO 2020 The recent uncertainty around IMO 2020 highlights the need for adaptability and future proofing measures for vessel owners, writes Lauri Helkkula, Manager, Lifecycle Services, Auramarine An additional factor has also become increasingly relevant in recent weeks, following the recent detrimental knock-on effects from the COVID-19 outbreak. Ship owners and the wider industry need to ensure that adaptability extends to supply chains. We have a global presence in 25 countries, and a main production facility in Shanghai as well as subcontracted production in Finland. Our production facility in Shanghai is now back in operation, with any possible delays to customers well communicated.

LUBRICITY AND VISCOSITY In light of the 0.5% sulphur regulation, we have identified the parts of the fuel supply system that can be prone for disturbances when introducing new fuels. For example, low sulphur fuel oil is characterised by low lubricity and viscosity.

These properties can affect the fuel pumping system, causing leaks and excessive wear of moving parts. Upgrades may be necessary to ensure adequate pumping capacity and lubricity. To provide adequate engine protection, a filtration upgrade is often recommended.

Typically, an additional fuel cooling capacity can also be necessary. A ship can also benefit from a dedicated MGO unit to enable the functional change of any of the ship’s engines to run on MGO, or to serve additional engines installed for MGO operation. Measuring and documenting the consumption of fuel has become increasingly necessary and especially if the existing flowmeters are becoming outdated it pays off to consider options that provide higher degrees of accuracy. With control system optimisation we can help to detect system failures or deficiencies at an early stage to help prevent malfunctions.

When a vessel needs to be able to user different fuel types during voyage, whilst remaining compliant with local sulphur emissions requirements, our FuelSafe fuel changeover system provides a fit for purpose, cost-efficient and rapid method. FuelSafe is compatible for both newbuilds and retrofits, and crucially - can be quickly installed and operational as soon as possible. The system is particularly suitable when MGO is used as backup for the combination of HFO and exhaust gas cleaning system. To conclude, when introducing new fuels to a vessel it pays off to take a holistic view at the fuel supply system and its capabilities to handle the chosen fuels.

FUTURE PROOFING Vessel owners, and the shipping industry as a whole, are becoming more aware of the necessity to forward plan, future proof and adapt, to accommodate planned regulatory and unplanned circumstance. For example, we have seen a general uptick in customers looking to secure fuel changeover systems onboard due to continuous regulatory measures. In addition to this, we are seeing customer requirements change across the globe: we have recently closed contracts for Marine Gas Oil units for cruise vessels, for example. Ship owners want unique advice at all stages to fulfil the needs determined by regulations in the most costefficient and streamlined capacity. Therefore, when specifically looking at fuel change and the impacts of IMO 2020, we recommend ship owners seek out customised and

8 Auramarine’s MGO Feeder units, such as the AMF-M-40 unit pictured, can be designed and installed on retrofit basis

crafted solutions based on their specific requirements to avoid vessel downtime due to fuel system disturbances.

Another change we are seeing is the role of spare parts due to the introduction of new fuels. Spare parts should be chosen so that they fulfil the requirements of the new fuels.

This applies especially for pumps and filters. If new parts are not carefully selected, they can cause catastrophic damage to the vessel’s fuel supply and subsequently endanger the vessel’s operations. At Auramarine, we have delivered over 15,000 reliable, high-performance auxiliary systems to customers all over the world. With a global distributor network that provides world class fuel supply systems supported by comprehensive lifecycle services for customers in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas, we have spent decades delivering high quality spare parts with fast delivery and competitive prices.

We are ready to offer wider scopes such as planned maintenance, spare part packages for a certain period and fleet agreements to ensure the streamlining of operations.

With a vessel’s fuel systems potentially undergoing change in line with regulation, ship owners need to ensure the operational efficiency of their fleet at all stages, and we believe this to be the rationale behind owners looking for more efficient, robust and adaptable services.

In order to be successful post 2020, shipowners must understand how best to mitigate risks, minimise downtime and manage unexpected costs and delays. In order to achieve this, partnerships within the maritime industry will have mutually beneficial results in addition to improving the overall operations for ship owners.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

8 “Our production facility in Shanghai is now back in operation, with any possible delays to customers well communicated,” said Lauri Helkkula, Manager, Lifecycle Services, Auramarine

APRIL 2020 | 25

FUELS & LUBRICANTS

EFFECTS OF LSFO AND VLSFO ON CYLINDER CONDITION Rathesan Ravendran, Technology and Innovation Specialist at Hans Jensen Lubricators offers his perspective on the effects of the IMO 2020 fuel changeover It is now more than two months since the 0.5% sulphur cap entered into force, which have affected the operation of more than 70,000 vessels. As anticipated, some vessels operating on LSFO or VLSFO have already observed a number of issues with the changeover. There are cases of high wear rates, severe scuffing, heavy deposits and piston rings sticking leading to heavy blow-by/ring breakage - some of the issues occurring just a few days after changing over.

Sulphur is no longer present in the fuel oil (or only present to a limited extent), which means that the cylinder lubrication method has to be managed correctly in order to prevent the above-mentioned issues. The root causes of failure are to some extent related to fuel lubricity, deposit formation and lubrication oil distribution as described in [1,2].

The common procedure when observing high wear rates and scuffing is to increase the cylinder lubrication oil feed rate, but this is not always the right solution. Increasing the dosage of lubrication oil does not mean less frictional losses and wear. It can be as damaging as low oil dosage, due deposit formation (unused BN additives), which is naturally increased with the lubrication oil consumption [4]. This is illustrated in Figure 1.

This means that an acceptable wear of piston rings and cylinder liner can be achieved, if the cylinder lubrication oil feed rate and the BN level matches the engine running conditions and the amount of sulphur in the fuel oil.

Furthermore, it is also important to schedule the lubrication oil changeover correctly in connection to a fuel changeover.

Experience has shown that issues related to over-lubrication can be observed within the first 24h of engine operation.

Each batch of new fuel will vary in quality and sulphur content, which means that the engine condition must be monitored closely when switching to the new fuel batch.

There are multiple factors leading to deposit formation; 5 Non-combusted fuel components or contaminants.

5 Neutralization products.

5 Metal debris from the abrasive wear.

The most critical areas for deposit formation in two-stroke marine engines are the piston crown and ring area. Excessive deposit formation on the piston crown may cause bore polishing, whereas deposits building up in the piston ring area may result in ring sticking. These deposits cause improper sealing of the combustion chamber and result in e.g. loss of compression, blowby, loss of oil control, and increased wear.

One of the important parameters counteracting deposit formation is BN additives in the cylinder lubrication oil, because of its ability to prevent unwanted particles from coagulating and keep them in suspension. This makes flushing out the particles easier. This cleaning effect is reduced in operation with low sulphur fuels with a matching low BN cylinder lubrication oil, and thus leading to a higher risk of deposit formation.

In order to prevent deposit formation (and its consequences such as high wear and scuffing), it is recommended to ensure the following conditions:

26 | APRIL 2020

5 Correct cylinder oil feed rate: Specific cylinder lubrication oil consumption has to match the engine operating conditions to avoid over- and underlubrication.

5 Correct type of cylinder oil (BN level): Base Number (BN) has to match the fuel oil sulphur content to prevent cold corrosion as well as formation of calcium deposits.

8 Figure 1: The influence of cylinder lubrication oil feed rate and BN additives on the wear of piston rings and cylinder liner

5 Proper distribution of the cylinder oil: To have sufficient lubrication of piston rings and cylinder liner, the cylinder lubrication oil has to be evenly distributed at the top of the cylinder liner surface, where the wear is highest due to high temperature, high pressure and corrosive environment.

5 Frequent injection of the cylinder oil: Injection of fresh lubrication oil in every piston stroke reduces the risk of deposit formation, as particles are kept very small and can be dispersed in oil to be flushed away.

Case study 1: Consequences of over-lubrication and BN level mismatch To comply with the sulphur legislations, the vessel has chosen to switch from HSFO to LSFO. The vessel has been installed with a UEC68LSE main engine, and operating with a load average of 45%. Furthermore, the vessel is equipped with traditional mechanical lubricators with non-return injection valves delivering the lubrication oil into the piston ring pack. Until the changeover to LSFO, the cylinder condition has been normal with a lubrication feed rate of 1.18 g/kWh and a 70BN cylinder lubrication oil. After the changeover, the vessel suddenly experienced high wear and scuffing. The bunker analysis prior to the changeover showed that the content of cat fines in the fuel was within the normal limit of 35 ppm.

Scavenge-port inspections before and after the changeover (Figure 2 and 3), showed an increased deposit build-up and scuffing of piston rings (Figure 6). Only pictures

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

FUELS & LUBRICANTS

8 Figure 4: Operation on LSFO (08/01-2020) - bad condition.

The pistons and ring packs across all cylinders seem to be over-lubricated. There are deposits on the piston top land, and visible scuffing marks on the piston rings (Figure 6)

8 Figure 2: Visible scuffing marks on the piston rings

8 Figure 5: Operation on LSFO (January 2020) - very bad condition. Piston ring are stuck in its groove. This is indicated as the upper piston ring is partly black from combustion residues, and the ring land below the piston ring is partly dry and without cylinder lubrication oil due to blow-by

8 Figure 3: Operation on HSFO (February 2019). Piston rings are well lubricated, and no major deposit build-up on the piston top land area

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;

To comply with the sulphur legislations, the vessel has chosen to switch from HSFO to LSFO. The vessel has been installed with a UEC68LSE main engine, and operating with a load average of 45%

8 Figure 6: Operation on LSFO (February 2020) - bad condition. The upper piston ring is partly stuck in its groove.

This is indicated as the upper piston ring is partly black from combustion residues, and the ring land below the piston ring is partly dry and without cylinder lubrication oil due to blow-by

of unit #6 is presented in this article, but the situation was the same for all cylinder units. Since high wear was observed in the on-board scrape-down analysis, the engine operators sought to deal with the issue by increasing the cylinder lubrication oil feed rate to approximately 1.5 g/kWh. This has unsuccessful, as the following port inspection 7 days later showed (Figure 4) an even worse cylinder condition with an increased build-up of calcium deposits.

Scrape-down results after the changeover confirmed high iron content as well as high residual BN, which indicates over-lubrication and mismatch in BN level. The vessel was

recommended to change cylinder oil type from 70BN to 40BN, and furthermore reduce the cylinder oil feed rate in order to prevent the issues from calcium deposit build-up.

The instructions where followed, and the following inspection (Figure 5) and scrape-down results showed improved cylinder condition (both iron content and BN decreased dramatically by 57.8 % and 24.6 %, respectively). Since piston rings and cylinder liner were severely scuffed, and since the stuck piston rings could not be loosened by lubrication oil, a complete overhaul of the units was required to reestablish normal cylinder condition.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

APRIL 2020 | 27

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THRUSTERS & PROPULSION

NEXT-GEN EFFICIENCY PROJECT The three-year SEATech project intends to develop an operational version of an oscillating flapping-wing propulsion device, and to test the energy saving device aboard short-sea vessels. The project builds on existing designs has been tested in flow tanks but have not yet been undergone full-scale tests.

Flapping wing solutions have been long regarded as a potential energy saving solution within the shipping industry, but the complexity of modelling the kinematic interaction of the wing with waves and currents and developing dynamic control systems for the flapping wing, have complicated efforts to commercialise them previously.

The biomimetic energy saving device uses active pitch control to maximise the energy and thrust generated from the waves. As the levels of thrust and energy generated by the device fluctuate, the device poses a wider integration challenge.

“The heart of the system is how we can maximise the amount of energy generated by the wing”, said Anders Öster, Senior Project Manager, Research & Technology Development at Wärtsilä and overall Project Coordinator for the SeaTech Consortium.

The solution being explore by the EU-funded SeaTech project is to integrate the wing with a separate Wärtsilä innovation in dual-fuel engine operation, which will lead to a significant increase in efficiency. By combining the flappingwing solution innovation with improved dual-fuel engine efficiency, the project intends to deliver a 30 percent reduction in fuel consumption.

The project envisions such a symbiotic relationship would permit 99 percent reductions in sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), a 94 percent reduction in particulate matter (PM) emissions and a 46 percent reduction in CO2 emissions.

The development of a symbiotic relationship between the bow-mounted flapping-wing and the engine management system lay at the heart of the project, Öster said.

“Without modifying the engine management to respond more quickly to the constantly varying dynamic energy produced by the wing, you could not achieve the sort of savings we are aiming to achieve,” Öster said.

“We want to let the wing generate as much energy as possible, and to maximise the amount of thrust the system can generate.”

IMPROVED ENERGY CONVERSION The second aspect of the project is a proposed engine power generation innovation, built around achieving ultra-high energy conversion efficiency.

Anders Öster confirmed that precise control over the engine’s combustion process would help to achieve radical reductions in exhaust emission levels.

“The development represents an evolution in our control over the combustion process, rather than a radical change in combustion chamber design or the elimination of camshafts,” Öster said. The range of fuels that Wärtsilä’s dual-fuel engines can handle would not be limited by the development, he added.

By improving the overall energy efficiency of Wärtsilä’s

Credit: AutoNaut

A consortium, including Wärtsilä, is conducting a project to develop two symbiotic ship engine and propulsion innovations

engines, and lowering the overall emissions from the engine, the development might lower the methane emissions emitted by Wärtsilä’s four-stroke dual-fuel engines. Öster firmly declined to reveal more about the proprietary technological development, noting the three-year research project only began work in 2019.

RETROFIT POSSIBILITIES The project was intended to provide practical solutions for existing tonnage, rather than just introducing a new solution for newbuilds. One of the project’s criteria was that it could deliver solutions that could be applied to existing short-sea tonnage, as well as to newbuildings, Öster noted.

The innovation was intended to be suitable for retrofit to existing vessels equipped with Wärtsilä engines. While it was intended to be launched in the European and Asian shortsea markets by 2025, the solution was also likely to offer efficiency gains for deep-sea vessels.

With the extremely high fuel efficiencies offered by the solution as well as operational cost reductions from improved engine operations, the return on investment (RoI) for owners was expected to be around 400 percent.

8 Flapping-wing systems had attracted interest from the Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) segment (pictured). Inset: By combining a flapping-wing solution innovation with improved dual-fuel engine efficiency, the project aims to deliver a 30 percent reduction in fuel consumption

SEATECH CONSORTIUM The SEATech Horizon2020 project consortium includes Wärtsilä, Huygens Engineer BV from the Netherlands, the Estonian company Liewenthal Electronics, Utkilen AS from Norway, the National Technical University of Athens, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and the UK’s University of Southampton. Wärtsilä is the coordinator of the 3-year project, which will run until 2023.

The National Technical University of Athens and the University of Southampton have specialisms in the design and modelling of flapping-wings and other propulsion devices.

The consortium participants’ expertise extends from technical design and production, and modelling of the kinematic properties of biomimetic devices, through to optimising the engine response of Wärtsilä’s dual-fuel engines at partial loads to integrate the variable amounts of thrust generated by the wing.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

APRIL 2020 | 29

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MS100 HYBRIDISATION FOCUS

NEW TECH FOR OLD CONCEPTS In fact, it used its steam engine for only a small portion of that time; the rest of its power came from its sails, making it a steam/windpower hybrid. It was not a commercial success and was converted to wind-only soon afterwards.

Nearly three decades later, in 1845, the SS Great Britain became the first iron-hulled screw-driven ship to cross the Atlantic. It, too, was a steam/windpower hybrid and was also eventually converted to sail power.

It took about 140 years for engine/windpower hybrids to establish themselves. Various sail-assisted ships traded in the 1980s and, more recently, with other systems, such as kites and Flettner rotors. That technology dates back to the 1920s and can now be seen on ships of many types and sizes, including the 9,700dwt ro-ro Estraden, the 57,565gt ferry Viking Grace and the 110,000dwt tanker Maersk Pelican.

A paper in 2013 called Future ship powering options, published by the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE), gave a simple definition of hybrid propulsion. It is “an option where one or more modes of powering the ship can be utilised to optimise performance for economic, environmental or operational reasons.”

On that basis, many long-standing power configurations are hybrids, even though they may not have been called that at the time, particularly in naval vessels, where various combinations of diesel engines and gas turbines have been used for years. The ‘combined diesel and gas’ (CODAG) arrangement, for example, was pioneered in Germany’s Köln-class frigates in the late 1950s.

In particular, ‘battery’ power has almost become synonymous with ‘hybrid’ power, although battery-only vessels - such as the car ferries Ampere in Norway and Ellen in Denmark - are not hybrid ships according to the RAE’s definition, since only one mode of powering is involved.

Batteries are playing an increasingly important role in hybrid propulsion as their capacity goes up and their cost comes down, which benefitted one of the pioneers of battery hybrid propulsion, Norwegian cruise/ferry operator Hurtigruten.

The first of a pair of new expedition vessels, Roald Amundsen, went into service in July 2019, followed by its sister, Fridtjof Nansen, in March 2020. Such was the pace of battery development between the two vessels that the price per MWh of battery capacity halved during development, allowing the second ship to have at least four times as much battery capacity as the first. This will give it considerably longer ‘silent running’ periods during Arctic cruises and it will be able to use its batteries in port, rather than run its engines or rely on shore power.

The next generation of hybrid battery installations will be paired with hydrogen fuel cells. A conversion project inspired

by Norwegian shipyard and supported by Norway’s ‘Pilot-E’ technology accelerator programme funded by the Research Council of Norway is planning to have a zeroemissions passenger ship operating on a domestic route by the end of 2020.

A few months later, an EU-funded project called Flagships, will result in two newbuildings using hydrogen fuel cells: a push-boat that will be operated in France by Compagnie Fluvial de Transport and a vehicle ferry for Norwegian operator Norled, which operates Ampere.

Credit: Hurtigruten

Hybrid ships are not new. Just over a century before The Motorship was first published, the SS Savannah is credited as the being the first steamship to cross the Atlantic

Unlike those electric-propulsion ships, diesel-battery hybrids use power-take-in (PTI) motor and gearbox arrangement. In most cases, the same unit serves as both motor and as the power-take-off (PTO) generator to provide power to electrical consumers around the vessel or to charge the batteries when the engines would otherwise be operating at less-than-optimum loads - a process called peak shaving.

Like hybrid propulsion, PTO arrangements have a long history, beginning in the agricultural sector so that a single tractor could power other machinery. An important imperative for its adoption in the marine sector was the differential in fuel price between MDO - the only fuel that many auxiliary engines could use in times past - and HFO. As well as the fuel cost benefit, the auxiliaries could be stopped during voyages, reducing maintenance costs.

Now, with hybrid-related applications for PTO/PTI arrangements becoming common, OEMs offer bespoke systems offering a range of refinements for different combinations of the primary and hybrid power sources.

How hybrid systems will develop in the future may emerge from an EU-funded project, Implementation of ship hybridisation. It is aimed at increasing the adoption of lowcarbon technologies. It has 15 partners and 45 observer organisations from across Europe and began in February 2019. It will finish in June 2022 and its expected outputs have a strong hydrogen-related theme, including demonstrating the feasibility of hydrogen bunkering facilities in ports.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

8 Hurtigruten’s new expeditionary ships have four engines and two large battery packs

8 Ellen is the world’s most powerful electric ferry, but is not a hybrid

APRIL 2020 | 31

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MS100 HYBRIDISATION FOCUS

HYBRID POWER FOR SHORT-SEA BULKERS Drawing on Norwegian government funding support for the enlightened shipboard energy arrangements chosen, shortsea specialist Aasen Shipping has ordered two selfdischarging bulkers incorporating hybrid powering.

The 9,200dwt minibulkers ordered from Dutch shipbuilder Royal Bodewes are scheduled to join Aasen’s fleet of selfunloaders by 2022, and are claimed to be the first of their kind to have been specified with diesel-electric hybrid propulsion.

While the intra-north European bulk commodity trades in which the shipowner is primarily engaged constitute typically low-margin shipping business, the capital cost premium for the hybrid solution is justified by the prospective, long-term payback. The environmental benefits associated with the incorporation of a battery pack also promise certain operating advantages, giving a commercial edge, over the coming years.

Each newbuild will be fitted with a travelling deck gantrymounted excavator for loading and unloading at up to 900t per hour, conferring broader trading scope than gearless tonnage plus cost savings for shippers through vessel self-reliance in cargo handling as regards both equipment and personnel.

Hatch covers will be lifted by dedicated panel-handling, movable gantries fore and aft of the excavator. The hydrodynamically-optimised hull design is just under 120m in length overall and 15.8m wide, with a maximum draught of 7.5m.

Aasen sought the advice of technology group Wärtsilä as to the merits of a hybrid installation, and the latter determined that the extra initial investment required for the incorporation of battery power would be more than offset by a high level of achievable fuel cost savings. Wärtsilä has been retained to supply the battery pack, direct-current (DC) switchboard and power management system as well as the small-bore, medium-speed main diesel engine, reduction gearbox and controllable pitch propeller.

The shipowner was keen to ensure that Wärtsilä Norway would cooperate closely with the shipbuilder’s subcontractor for the electrical equipment, so as to better ensure the development of an innovative yet comparatively simple solution.

Each vessel will be able to run her deck-mounted, electric excavator on battery power, and will have the means of feeding the shipboard net from the shoreside grid when alongside, eliminating the need to fire up gensets in port.

The specific nature of coastal and intra-regional bulk cargo shipping using such vessels typically involves multiple short voyages over time and transits at maximum speed, frequent waiting at or off ports due to tides or shoreside working shifts, and variable load demands on the discharge excavator during the cargo transfer process, all of which makes for wide and frequent fluctuations in energy requirements. This scenario was regarded as affording ample scope for the hybrid option, whereby battery packs and electrical feed can exert a load levelling effect as well as dispensing altogether with main or auxiliary diesel power in certain situations.

Noise reductions achievable in harbour through the use of the batteries, potentially when in manoeuvring mode as well

Credit: Aasen Shipping

Progressive, long-term design thinking underpins a Norwegian project for two ships to serve the humble but vital North European bulk cargo traffic, writes David Tinsley

as when alongside, rank as an increasingly important factor, given the increasing lack of tolerance among waterside inhabitants in many parts of Europe as to noise issues, no matter how long a port or terminal has existed.

The shipowner has indicated an expectation of fuel savings of more than 350t per annum through the arrangements nominated for the new ships. Specified battery capacity is understood to be some 340kWh, and the pack will be housed in a compartment right aft on the enclosed deck above the engine room.

Initially, the owner considered powering arrangements based on an LNG-capable, dual-fuel main engine, but decided against this option on account of comparatively high costs, coupled with what was perceived to be limited climate gain as regards emissions plus certain logistic and operational challenges as to LNG sourcing relative to trading profile.

Enova, the agency which promotes eco-friendly energy technologies under the aegis of the Ministry of Climate and Environment, has allocated NOK 7.35 million (US$790,000) towards the hybrid engineering aspects of the project, on the strength of the attributes as to energy savings and reduced climatic impact within the Norwegian regime.

The main machinery selected for each ship is an eightcylinder model of the L26 engine, rated at about 2,600kW. The Wärtsilä four-stroke is among the shortest and lowest in its class, minimising engine room space requirements. Its relatively low component count also holds advantages as to maintenance needs.

Located at Mosterhamn, on the coastal island of Bomlo between Bergen and Stavanger, family-owned Aasen Shipping currently deploys eight self-dischargers with carrying capacities in the 3,500-7,650t range. The vessels are primarily engaged in contracts with industrial customers, carrying stone, salt, cement, grain, scrap, round timber and other commodities, but are also suited to breakbulk and project shipments.The company retains full commercial and technical management of the fleet, and also controls covered and open storage at Mosterhamn.

The award of the shipbuilding contract to Royal Bodewes at Hoogezand represents another string in the bow of the industry in the Netherlands’ northernmost provinces, resilient and innovative in the production and design of small commercial vessels.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

8 Self-sustaining, efficient tonnage for bulk trading in northern Europe

APRIL 2020 | 33

MS100 HYBRIDISATION FOCUS

HYBRIDISATION TO ENTER THE SHORT-SEA MAINSTREAM Stefan Nysjö, Vice President, Marine Power Solutions at Wärtsilä, takes stock of previous market transitions and looks forward to changes to come

8 Ultramax bulk carrier, Paolo Topic, is being retrofitted with solar panels, which will be integrated into an HY hybrid-power module

From an engine design and operation perspective, what do you think have been the most important technological innovations during your career?

Two significant advances come to mind. The first, which predates my time, was the successful adaption of fourstroke medium speed diesel engines to operate on heavy fuel oil in the wake of the oil crisis in the 1970s. Wärtsilä engineers were the first to achieve this breakthrough. [The Motorship notes this came just a few years after Wärtsilä engineers designed their first engine, Vasa 14, in 1959.] A second, more recent engine-related innovation was the introduction of the first dual-fuel marine engine to operate on liquefied natural gas, the Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engine in 2003. This drew on our work on gas-diesel engines in the late 1980s and sparkignited pure gas engines in the early 90s. Both of these innovations have had a wide impact on the industry as a whole.

But, if we look away from engine technology towards wider innovation, Wärtsilä has played a leading role in applying systems thinking to the marine industry, which informed our Smart Marine Ecosystem vision. Further, from a commercial perspective, we were the first company to establish and expand a fully armed global service network, for example. More recently, innovations have been based on applied digital technologies and the use of data.

Q A

the 2000s. So you could say I have some experience in this market. As a company, we believe that engine technology will remain at the centre of marine propulsion, particularly for deep-sea shipping. I believe it will remain the prime mover there for many years to come. However, we think that we may see different combinations of propulsion in the short-sea market, where we expect the recent growth in battery hybridisation to increase. For some ferries and passenger ferries, fully electric vessels may become more widespread for short crossings.

You mention hybridisation as a technology. Looking at the current market for hybrid vessels, how do you see the technology and the market evolving?

Since we unveiled our Wärtsilä HY module at NorShipping in 2017, we have seen commercial interest in hybridisation rapidly evolve. Our hybrid solutions for tugs,

Q A

8 The escort tug Vilja was the first vessel of its kind to operate with a Wärtsilä HY hybrid power module

As a mechanical engineer by training, how do you see the future role of the internal combustion engine? Will it remain the main mover for marine transportation in the future?

I started out in the power generation side of Wärtsilä in the 1990s but have been working in the marine business since

Q

34 | APRIL 2020

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MS100 HYBRIDISATION FOCUS

How do you see the development of battery technology affecting the market?

We recognise that battery technology is developing, and that this is being driven by investments by the automotive industry. The emergence of more powerful marine batteries with higher energy densities will support expanding the scope of hybrid solutions in the future. We anticipate that marine batteries will become commoditised, which means they can be replaced in the same way and at the same time as you bunker or maintain a vessel today.

Picture courtesy of Wärtsilä, credit Wilmer Wahlstedt

dredgers and offshore vessels offer double-digit efficiency savings and have grown rapidly. But the advantages of the technology are not limited to short-sea vessels with fluctuating energy consumption patterns.

We also see opportunities for hybrid solutions to help to optimise operations in the cruise vessel sector and also in the ro-pax segment where hybrid solutions can help to optimise the operation of auxiliary engines.

I am personally convinced that we will see hybrid solutions grow across different segments, including deep-sea vessels.

Q A

Do you see further possibilities for hybrid solutions to evolve as data availability improves?

Looking further ahead, we have been carrying out research into a range of different configurations, including deep-sea vessels with battery installations, such as a hybrid system combined with photovoltaic panels aboard Paolo Topic. We have also signed an agreement with rotor sail company Norsepower to maintain their installations, which will improve our understanding of renewable energy generation.

While the solutions we are looking at differ, they draw on our insights into the vessel’s underlying systems. We have used a data driven design approach to identify potential areas where efficiency gains and other operation benefits can be achieved.

Q A

How does your recent research into autonomous and semi-autonomous systems feed into this?

We have been undertaking research with PSA Marine in Singapore to develop the “IntelliTug”, a smart tugboat, through which we strive to improve safety and efficiency.

Autonomy enabled vessels offer the potential for significant improvements in these area.

But we also see possibilities for wider efficiency gains from the utilization of data. Our Fleet Operations Solution, which combines voyage optimisation, fuel efficiency monitoring and engine performance analysis, is an example of how efficiencies can be achieved looking at many vessels/engine systems, as well as by looking at one.

Q A

Shifting focus slightly towards Wärtsilä’s broader strategy, Wärtsilä anticipated a number of the discussions in the industry that we are undergoing now.

As an OEM, you have to anticipate your customers’ requirements! And one of the secrets of innovation is that you have to have the guts to believe in it. But, more seriously, we also realised that we did not have all the answers, and that we would need to collaborate to create an ecosystem around the industry.

That’s why we joined the Getting to Zero coalition, which brings together different stakeholders to develop a zeroemission ship by 2030. We have also played a supportive role to enable other platforms to be set up, such as the SEA20 initiative which promotes discussions and collaboration between port cities.

Q A

We have heard many different perspectives on potential zero carbon fuels. What is your perspective about the current debate about alternative fuels?

Wärtsilä has a lot of experience in the field of alternative fuels and has been supplying dual-fuel engines to the shipping and power generation markets for almost 30 years.

We do not know which fuels will be adopted, and the industry may well be driven by a variety of different fuels.

We think that the answer is fuel flexibility, to ensure that vessels are future proofed as far as possible.

This would mean that today’s dual-fuel engines running on HSFO and LNG might run on LNG and drop-in hydrogen or ammonia in the future, just as one potential scenario or step on the journey.

This might have wider design implications for ship designers or shipyards, who would need to design a vessel’s systems with the flexibility to allow future conversions.

But the many alternative fuels currently being discussed, such as hydrogen or ammonia, are currently uneconomical and are not currently feasible. For the time being, the sensible thing to do would be to use LNG, which is increasingly widely available, and has existing bunkering infrastructure in place.

If we are going to meet the IMO’s greenhouse reduction target to halve emissions from shipping by 2050, we are running on a very tight timeline. We have to act now.

Q

8 Wärtsilä launched its first engine, Vasa 14, in 1959

A

How has the systems thinking approach fed into your Smart Marine Ecosystem vision?

We saw the need to respond to shipping’s environmental challenge as a shared challenge. We also realised that we would need to collaborate with stakeholders inside and around the industry.

But looming at the shipping industry as an ecosystem, we see the need for different technologies and stakeholders to come together, as elements work together in any ecosystem.

This ranges from vessel-level systems, such as engine management systems, through wider digitalisation and data-led services, such as our Fleet Operations Solution, to areas of new innovation, such as our work on autonomous vessels. By bringing together the benefits from these different technologies, we can eliminate inefficiencies and help to improve safety and efficiency.

That is where the bigger gain is, not just for us, but for the whole industry.

Q A

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Picture courtesy of Wärtsilä

8 Stefan Nysjö Vice President, Marine Power Solutions at Wärtsilä expects the recent growth in battery hybridisation in the short-sea market to increase

APRIL 2020 | 35

SHIP DESCRIPTIONS

BUILDING BLOCK FOR CLIMATE-NEUTRAL LOGISTICS

Credit: Volkswagen AG

Tailored to the demands of new vehicle transportation, Siem Car Carriers’ latest tonnage also represents an advance in environmental standards for the deepsea ro-ro sector, writes David Tinsley

The technical specification laid down for the ships embraced an across-the-board approach to emissions reduction, driven by the eco agenda of the prospective charterer, the Volkswagen Group. Siem Confucius is the first of two sisters constructed by Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry in eastern China’s Fujian province. She ushers in the use of LNG as primary fuel in the deepsea pure car/truck carrier(PCTC) category. Second-of-class Siem Aristotle is expected to follow within the spring.

While ever-more stringent emissions legislation and the inter-relationship between energy efficiency and carbon footprint bears directly on newbuild vehicle carrier design and engineering, the increasing sensitivity of manufacturers to environmental issues influences logistic strategies.

Significantly, the Volkswagen Group, heavily fined by the US in 2017 for emission violations with diesel-engined vehicles off its production lines, has a strategy in place to improve the environmental impact of its transport operations. This has already found expression in a number of spheres, not least European intra-regional and shortsea operations.

The organisation’s logistics arm is now rolling-out the policy in application to long-haul trade, by way of the specific attributes of the two Chinese newbuilds, for which Siem Car Carriers had submitted an economically and environmentally convincing proposal. The ship operator is a member of the Siem Industries Group, headquartered in Kristiansand, Norway.

The car-equivalent unit (CEU) capacity of the design is 7,700. The 13 cargo decks of various heights and loading strength provide the requisite flexibility as well as scale to serve a diverse vehicle production range. The layout will

36 | APRIL 2020

8 Siem Confucius undergoing final outfitting at the Xiamen yard

enable typically mixed payloads of around 4,700 vehicles of different VW models and types on any single voyage. Siem Confucius and Siem Aristotle will replace two of the nine heavy fuel oil(HFO)-burning, diesel-engined PCTCs currently deployed in the VW traffic on the North Atlantic. The roundtrip itinerary links markets and plants in Europe, Mexico, the USA and Canada.

The hull breadth of 38m is some 6m greater than that of ships built to the constraints governed by the Panama Canal prior to its expansion, while the length overall length has been retained to just under 200m so as to better ensure long-term, global trading versatility. The 200m limit is dictated by restrictions at many Japanese terminals.

LNG will be the primary fuel for both main and auxiliary machinery. Besides the high-pressure, low-speed twostroke dual-fuel main engine, entailing a fuel supply pressure of 300bar, the genset drives and principal boiler are also of dual-fuel type.

The Siem vessels will make an important contribution to the automotive group’s bid to cut emissions in the supply chain from manufacturing to final product delivery, under a strategy dubbed ‘goTOzero’. Compared to the PCTCs that will be superseded, each newbuild is expected to cut CO2 emissions by up to 25%, NOx by up to 30%, and particulate matter by up to 60%, as well as virtually eliminating SOx. Thomas Zemechel, head of VW Group Logistics, stated “We are entering a new field here to reduce emissions. Both ships are the first overseas car freighters in the world to be LNG-powered. In addition to the increasing use of LNG(fuelled) trucks, conversion of our many rail transports to

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green electricity, and the use of biofuel in the shortsea segment, the two new LNG(-fuelled) ships represent an important building block for our strategic goal of climateneutral logistics.”

Hitherto, the industry’s use of LNG in sea-going vehicle transportation has been confined to the short-haul and intraregional field.

The propulsive power installation is an S60ME-GI gasinjected, dual-fuel two-stroke from the MAN stable, rated at 12,600kW, and incorporates exhaust gas treatment. The machinery offers still greater long-term flexibility through suitability for operation on biogas or potentially on synthetic natural gas, so-called e-gas produced by Power-to-X technology using renewable energy.

“We believe that the switch to LNG as marine fuel is the most important basis for a maritime energy revolution,” observed MAN Energy Solutions’ CEO Uwe Lauber. “In a second step, gas-capable ships can be operated with synthetically produced, climate-neutral fuels and are therefore future-proof. With this project, VW is pioneering the decarbonisation of global trade flows.”

Direct drive is made to an MAN Alpha four-bladed, fixed pitch propeller of the fuel-saving Kappel design. The 6.95m-diameter screw, with its distinctive, smoothly curved tips to the suction side of the blades, was manufactured in China by licensee Dalian Marine Propeller.

In eco-speed mode, the main engine provides for a speed of 16.5 knots under fair conditions, with the scope to make up to 19 knots should the need for a faster cargo placement, schedule recovery or other circumstances so demand.

The auxiliary outfit is based on three aggregates featuring MAN L28/32DF dual-fuel, four-stroke engines, comprising two nine-cylinder models and one in seven-cylinder configuration. At maximum continuous output, each of the 9L28/32DF gensets yields 1,800kW, and the 7L28/32DF produces 1,400kW.

‘‘

In a second step, gas-capable ships can be operated with synthetically produced, climate-neutral fuels and are therefore future-proof.

With this project, VW is pioneering the decarbonisation of global trade flows MAN said that the engines are the first-ever from the L28/32DF series to have been approved for IMO Tier III operation without recourse to selective catalytic reduction(SCR), and the first such units manufactured by licensee CSSC Marine Power (CMP). All the gensets are equipped with turbochargers of the TCR type, and each engine is overseen by MAN’s proprietary SaCoS control system.

The complete fuel gas supply and storage wherewithal has been provided by Chinese designer and manufacturer Gloryholder Liquefied Gas Machinery. For each ship, the Dalian-based company’s contract encompassed two 1,800m3-capacity Type C LNG fuel tanks for underdeck placement, two LNG bunkering stations, a high pressure/low pressure gas supply unit, boil-off gas (BOG) handling and reliquefaction systems, water/glycol system, gas detection and LNG fuel safety and control arrangements.

The 3,600m3 of LNG storage capacity ensures that the new

Credit: MAN Energy Solutions

SHIP DESCRIPTIONS

PCTCs have a similar range to that of HFO-powered vessels, while the broader beam allows the below-deck accommodation of the fuel tanks without penalising cargo payload relative to earlier Panamax-size ships.

LNG bunkering will be accomplished on both sides of the Atlantic, in Jacksonville and Emden, the latter, northeast German port being Volkswagen’s principal interface for vehicle shipments. Fuel supplies in the USA will be effected using a newly-built articulated tug/barge (ATB) unit.

Constructed at Pascagoula by VT Halter Marine, the ATB combination comprises a 4,000m3-capacity LNG tank barge and dedicated, 39m push tug. Contractual owner Quality LNG Transport(Q-LNG) has entered into a 15-year agreement with Shell Trading(US) for deployment of the ATB along the southeast US eastern seaboard and Gulf of Mexico.

Besides the Siem PCTCs, regular recipients will include two LNG dual-fuel cruise ships ordered in Germany by Carnival Cruise Line. Based at Port Canaveral in Florida, Q-LNG Transport will draw loads from the Elba Island LNG terminal in Savannah, Georgia.

Volkswagen, which is the majority owner of MAN Energy Solutions’ Augsburg-based parent MAN, is also considering diesel to dual-fuel repowering schemes for existing tonnage, and is looking into the possibilities of fostering LNG usage on other routes.

Total worldwide marine shipment volume organised and controlled by VW’s logistics arm is in the region of 2.8 million vehicles per annum. In addition, constructional parts, componentry and spares accounts for some 250,000 container loads each year. Within the European domain, the group has taken steps in recent years to effect a modal shift in favour of shortsea transport where viable, one example being inter-plant transfers from Turkey to Portugal.

Volkswagen joined the Clean Shipping Network (CSN) at the beginning of 2014 and was the first German auto maker to use CSN’s Clean Shipping Index to assess the environmental impact of its marine transport activities.

8 Dual-fuel MAN two-stroke power for Siem Confucius

PRINCIPAL PARTICULARS - Siem Confucius Length overall 200.0m Breadth 38.0m Draught 7.5m Capacity 7,700CEU Main engine power 12,600kW Auxiliaries 2 x 1,800kW + 1 x 1,400kW Speed, maximum/efficient 19/16.5kts Class LR Flag Liberia

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APRIL 2020 | 37

SHIP DESCRIPTIONS

JAPAN REINVESTS IN NICHE WOODCHIP CARRIER SECTOR Primarily serving as a raw material for the paper industry in Japan and China, but increasingly in demand as biomass for energy generation, woodchips constitute a growing sector of bulk cargo transportation. A distinct class of vessel originated in Japan has long characterised the trade in the Asia Pacific market.

Chip carriers have a much higher ratio of cubic storage capacity to deadweight compared to standard bulkers, due to the low density of the cargo. This necessitates much larger hold volumes, resulting in deeper hull sides, than conventional bulkers in the same deadweight class.

Ships are typically configured with six holds, providing a total capacity of in the range of 3.6 to 4.3 million ft3, and up to 4.7-5.0 million ft3 in the case of a new generation of Chinesebuilt tonnage. One of the holds can be used as a water ballast tank during unladen voyages.

Dedicated, purpose-designed woodchip carriers of the major, Japanese-controlled fleets are fully self-sustaining.

Cargo systems comprise high-speed deck cranes, interposing hoppers, and belt conveyors, ensuring continuous unloading and rapid turnaround times. Chip unloading rates are in the order of 1,000t per hour. The underdeck spaces are accessed and closed by way of endfolding hatch covers, with the hatch openings maximised to facilitate cargo working.

The latest Japanese-owned and -operated vessels are built to within 210 metres length overall, ensuring flexibility with regard to Japanese discharge berths. Cargo volume gains have been achieved principally by extending the beam to some 37m from the earlier Panama Canal constraint of 32.2m.

A single two-stroke diesel provides the propulsion power, but the substantial electrical load involved with such vessels, a factor of the mechanical intensity constituted by the selfreliant cargo handling arrangements, can necessitate four large generator sets.

The global trade in woodchips has seen a marked development over the past 15 years, at an average growth rate of about 4% annually. Suppliers, buyers and carriers involved in the international woodchip trade use a common unit of measurement, the ‘bone dry metric tonne’ (BDMT), signifying a 0% moisture content.

Liftings increased to 36.3 million BDMT in 2018, according to analyst Hawkins Wright. Over 90% of the trade is generated by the paper and board manufacturing industries, particularly in Japan and China. With the planned expansion of pulp production capacity in China, the latter is likely to consolidate its recently gained top slot as the world’s largest importer of chips.

There is also a growing requirement for chips to be used in power generation, as countries seek to raise the share of renewables in the energy mix.

Imports of woodchips for the energy sector have increased sharply in Japan and South Korea, and biomass plant construction looks set to give further impetus to shipping demand. When combusted, biomass releases CO2, which is in turn absorbed by plants and trees, a cycle which leads

38 | APRIL 2020

Photo credit: JSEA

With China posing determined new competition, Japan’s shipbuilding industry is intent on maintaining pre-eminence in the niche sector of woodchip carrier construction, writes David Tinsley

biomass to be considered as carbon-neutral. As well as constituting a carbon-neutral fuelling solution, the biomass energy option also offers stable, uninterrupted baseload power, which can be a challenge with other renewable energy sources, notably that dependant on wind strength and continuity.

Japan has been importing woodchips in bulk carriers since the mid 1960s, while China’s trade began towards the end of 2002, with other countries entering the sector as buyers in much more recent times. Purpose-designed woodchip carriers have traditionally been the domain of Japanese companies, with NYK Line and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) commanding the largest fleets. Notwithstanding continued reinvestment by the major players, a more diverse ownership profile now pertains, contributory to which has been the emergence of Singapore-based Nova Carriers in the top echelon of the sector.

Japanese shipbuilders, notably Sanoyas and Oshima, provided all dedicated tonnage for a long period, but the past few years have seen the entry of Chinese yards into the field with alternative designs of geared and gearless, highvolume bulkers. Nova Carriers gave a huge fillip to the Chinese production by ordering 12 vessels from Nantong Minde and Jiangsu Yangzijiang.

The South East Asian region, especially Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, had long accounted for the highest proportion of supply to Asian markets, but developments in the woodchip carrier fleet, offering further scale economies, have helped drive increased purchases from Australia and other Southern Hemisphere sources such as Chile and South Africa.

An advanced class of 60,000dwt newbuild booked with

8 Delivered by Oshima last year, Southern Treasure hauls woodchips for Hokuetsu’s paper mills in Japan

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SHIP DESCRIPTIONS Oshima Shipbuilding for deployment by NYK Line attests to the sustained high profile Japanese presence in this niche sector of bulk shipping.

Ordered on the strength of a long-term commitment by Mitsubishi Paper Mills, Oshima’s new-generation chip carrier will provide a transportation volume of 4.3 million ft3 within main dimensions of approximately 210m by 37m breadth.

NYK has indicated that the prospective fleet entrant, due in 2021, will steal a march on other vessels through “considerably” lower fuel consumption, a low-resistance hull form promising improved performance in poor weather conditions, and an eco-friendly specification that includes an exhaust gas cleaning system.

The refined design combines Oshima’s know-how as one of the world’s most prolific builders of bulkships with NYK Line’s long track record as an owner and operator of dedicated, purpose-designed woodchip carriers, over 40 of which are currently in service. The newbuild will lead a batch production programme. NYK’s trading link with Mitsubishi Paper Mills is well established, and is currently expressed in four long-term contracts, said to be the largest share of such business held by any shipping company with the paper maker.

Modernisation of the NYK fleet in recent years has included the 60,360dwt Snow Camellia, brought into service during September 2018 under long-term contract to Hokuetsu Corporation (formerly Hokuetsu Kishu Paper). Constructed at Oshima’s Saikai (Nagasaki) yard to similar main dimensions as those of the latest newbuild series ordered there by NYK, the 4.3 million ft3-capacity vessel was assigned to the transportation of imported woodchips to the Hokuetsu paper mill in Niigata prefecture.

Shipments for Hokuetsu are also the remit of the MOLoperated, 60,300dwt Southern Treasure, the second of a new class of 4.3 million ft3 woodchip carrier turned out by Oshima last year. The vessel is powered by a 7,430kW 6UEC50LSH two-stroke diesel from Japan Engine Corporation (J-ENG), and is fitted with a scrubber.

‘‘

While the chosen shipbuilder has yet to be announced, contractual terms stipulate delivery of the vessel before the end of 2022. The specification includes a scrubber, and the raft of energy-saving elements features a hybrid fin fitted immediately abaft the propeller She incorporates a raft of Oshima-developed hull form elements, notably the Seaworthy Bow, designed for better speed keeping in adverse weather, proprietary rudder fin, and advanced flipper fins aft, plus propeller boss cap fins (PBCF), an energy-saving solution devised by a Japanese partnership that included MOL. The electric deck cranes are fitted with a regenerative power system, whereby energy is recovered for the ship’s net during the lowering process.

Supplies of woodchips to the Hokuetsu mills in Japan are made from Vietnam and various sources in the southern hemisphere, mainly Chile, South Africa and Australia.

The changing profile of the Japanese trade is reflected in a newbuild scheme implemented by K Line on the strength of a charter agreement with Nippon Paper Industries. The

vessel will transport both raw material woodchips used in paper and board making and also ‘energy’ woodchips for biomass power generation. In the latter case, the recipient will be Nippon Paper’s Tomakomai biomass plant, which is due to start operations in 2023.

While the chosen shipbuilder has yet to be announced, contractual terms stipulate delivery of the vessel before the end of 2022. The specification includes a scrubber, and the raft of energy-saving elements features a hybrid fin fitted immediately abaft the propeller.

Reinvestment in woodchip carrier capacity by K Line in recent years has entailed the 3.6 million ft3 Forestal Gaia, commissioned from Tsuneishi Shipbuilding in May 2017. The 49,200dwt vessel cut her teeth on shipments from Vietnam, conveyed on behalf of Nippon Paper.

Sanoyas Shipbuilding Corporation has delivered over 50 woodchip carriers to date, and has recently developed an LNG-fuelled design based on a 4.3 million ft3-capacity vessel template. ClassNK has issued an approval in principle (AIP) for the concept, which promises a 40%-plus improvement in Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) rating. The LNG fuel tank will be mounted on the open, flush stern deck abaft the superstructure, obviating loss of underdeck revenue-earning volume.

Current industrial developments that will create new transportation requirements include the construction in Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo, of the 50MW Kamisu biomass plant, which will use palm kernel shells (PKS) and wood pellets as feedstock. GE has been contracted by industrial group Hitachi Zosen Corporation to supply key power components for the facility, due to start operations in 2023.

GE’s delivery will include a reheat steam turbine generator and low-NOx circulating fluidised bed(CFB) boiler. The latter type of machinery figures increasingly in Japanese biomass power schemes, since CFB technology allows for flexibility in the type of biomass fuels that can be used, be it woodchips, wood pellets, or PKS. The abundance and comparatively low cost of PKS, a waste product of the palm oil industry, in South East Asia could promote increased use in Japan’s biomass mix over the coming years, assuming suppliers can meet regulatory requirements as to sustainability.

Last December, Mitsubishi Corporation launched a biomass power generation project at Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture, in conjunction with Nippon Paper Industries and Chubu Electric Power, using wood pellets.

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8 In recent years, Chinese yards have produced alternative designs of geared and gearless, highvolume bulkers, such as Nova Carriers’ Batavia Express (pictured)

APRIL 2020 | 39

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APRIL 2020 | 41

50 YEARS AGO

THE MOTORSHIP’S FIRST 50 YEARS

MOTORSHIP

THE

INSIGHT FOR MARINE TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

The international magazine for senior marine engineers EDITORIAL & CONTENT Editor: Nick Edstrom editor@mercatormedia.com News Reporter: Rebecca Jeffrey rjeffrey@mercatormedia.com Correspondents Please contact our correspondents at editor@motorship.com Bill Thomson, David Tinsley, Tom Todd, Stevie Knight Production Ian Swain, David Blake, Gary Betteridge production@mercatormedia.com

The April 1970 issue of The Motorship marked 50 years since the magazine's inception, and our predecessors began by noting that “it is difficult in any review of progress to isolate technical progress from nostalgia.”

“Fifty Years,” they continued, “is perhaps not a long time in the history of shipping, but it does cover the period of greatest marine engineering a shipbuilding developments.”

That certainly rings true today. In many ways the magazine's second decade has seen development and consolidation rather than complete innovation in these pages we frequently see the germination of modern technological ideas that were being seriously considered half a century ago. It is not unreasonable to assume that the next 50 years will, out of necessity, prove somewhat more revolutionary than the last maybe even more than the 1920-1970 period. With this in mind, it was fascinating to see how, in April 1970, one commentator viewed the development of marine fuels up to 2020.

The industry was aware of fuel cells in 1970, but felt there was no evidence they could be scaled up to marine energy demands. So oil was likely to continue to dominate the scene into the 21st century, ahead of gas turbines and, to a lesser extent, nuclear power.

The oil industry was seen as having the capability and flexibility to meet all future fuel demands, at a low cost, and with a steady differential between residual and distillate fuel grades, with no chance of shortages of either type, thanks to ever-increasing world oil reserves. The increase in use of distillate fuels was correctly predicted, but this was mainly because the higher quality fuel would permit higher power outputs, and hence faster ships, while reducing 'out of service' time and enabling unmanned machinery rooms - emissions to air were not considered. The writers were aware that LNG had technical attractions, but fundamental storage and handling problems meant it was unlikely to be adopted on any significant scale. Unspecified 'alternative energy sources' did at least get a mention, but it was unlikely we would see any of these becoming viable until the first quarter of the 21st century - until then, petroleum products, albeit with ever-more refinement to enhance fuel quality and efficiency, would dominate.

42 | APRIL 2020

8 Three Werkspoor engines, all rated at 3,000bhp, shown to scale, demonstrating the reduction in size and weight

As the April 1970 issue was devoted entirely to looking back, there was no news of current vessels or technical developments. But the nostalgia did not concern only The Motorship's main raison d'être, i.e. ship propulsion - though there was plenty of that to consider, such as the Doxford engine which was still popular in the 1970s but today is regarded affectionately, but as something of an oddity.

One article pointed out that April 1970 was not just The Motorship's 50th anniversary, but marked 70 years of marine radio. But it was not until 1916 that radio became mandatory, a necessity rather than a luxury.

That move was prompted not only by the beginning of WW1 and the consequent dangers for commercial shipping, but by the Titanic, Volturno and Empress of England disasters in 1912-14.

Perhaps the most significant development in the marine diesel engine over those 50 years was the way that output power increased while size decreased.

The output of the 'super large bore' engines of 50 years ago, at just under 4,000bhp per cylinder, is indeed modest in comparison with later developments, but the power-to-weight and power-to-size ratios were impressive when compared to engines from the 1920s. An article from the Dutch Werkspoor company was illustrated by a picture featuring three of the company's engines, each rated at 3,000 bhp, showing how size and weight had reduced over just 20 years.

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by Mercator Media Limited Spinnaker House, Waterside Gardens, Fareham, Hampshire PO16 8SD, UK t +44 1329 825335 f +44 1329 550192 info@mercatormedia.com www.mercatormedia.com

Subscriptions Subscriptions@motorship.com or subscribe online at www.motorship.com Also, sign up to the weekly TMS E-Newsletter 1 year’s magazine subscription £GBP178.50 UK & EURO Post area £GBP178.50 Rest of the World © Mercator Media Limited 2020. ISSN 0027-2000 (print) ISSN 2633-4488 (online). Established 1920. The Motorship is a trade mark of Mercator Media Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine can be reproduced without the written consent of Mercator Media Ltd. Registered in England Company Number 2427909. Registered office: Spinnaker House, Waterside Gardens, Fareham, Hampshire PO16 8SD, UK. Printed in the UK by Holbrooks Printers Ltd, Portsmouth, PO3 5HX. Distributed by Mail Options Ltd, Unit 41, Waterside Trading Centre, Trumpers Way, London W7 2QD, UK.

8 A ship's radio room (or 'wireless cabin') from 1920, equipped with direction finder, receiver, and spark-gap transmitter

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100

2020

YEARS

17 NOV Hamburg 19 2020 Germany TO

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INSIGHT FOR MARINE TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS