The Motorship June 2020

JUNE 2020

Vol. 101 Issue 1182

MAN ES lube strategy New Cat.II oils

4-stroke feature

Market developments

MS100 MAN ES

Brian Sørensen interview

Different strokes RCCI research

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Wind-assisted propulsion | Remote technical training | Hull form optimisation | Corvus Geir Bjørkeli interview

CONTENTS

JUNE 2020

8

4

NEWS 24 Sequential fuel injection

The first vessels with MAN Energy Solutions new sequential fuel injection solution have been delivered. The use of sequential fuel injection and turbocharger optimisation have delivered incremental gains in fuel consumption, particularly in the low-load range. Engines incorporating the new, low-load optimised tuning feature are designated LL-SEQ.

26 Wärtsilä ICU upgrade

Wärtsilä has introduced an upgrade solution for its FuelFlex ICU to meet the requirements of operating its RT-flex type two-stroke diesel engines with both residual and low-viscosity marine fuels. The solution is available for retrofitting on vessels with Wärtsilä RT-flex96C-B and RT-flex84T-D two-stroke engines.

12 Cylinder oil shake up

MAN Energy Solutions cancelled NOLs for a number of 15-25 BN cylinder oils and introduced a higher category of cylinder oils in a far-reaching service letter in May. We include advice for affected operators and owners of Mark 9 and later engine types.

Online motorship.com 5 Latest news 5 Comment & analysis 5 Industry database 5 Events

Social Media Linkedin Facebook Twitter YouTube

FEATURES

10 REGULARS 8 Leader Briefing

26

20 Different strokes

Stevie Knight examines the status of research into Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) technologies, and learns that developments in cylinder firing and monitoring technology have opened the way for further efficiency opportunities.

Geir Bjørkeli, CEO of Corvus discusses rising interest in marine battery installations from larger vessels, and changes in battery technology.

22 Auxiliary TC retrofits

10 Ship Design

26 Distance no barrier

Composites have a place on ferries, writes Stevie Knight, but just how effective these changes will be depends on commitment.

44 Ship Description

An innovative breed of DPST, powered by LNG and liquefied VOC, promises competitive advantages as Norwegian environmental controls tighten.

Weekly E-News Sign up for FREE at: www.motorship.com/enews

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

Yanmar’s research into retrofitting four-stroke auxiliaries with two-stage turbocharging as a solution to IMO Tier III limits indicate increased efficiency and output possibilities.

PrimeServ Academy in Augsburg is trialling the provision of some technical training courses remotely to customers, Dr Holger Gehring explains.

34 When the wind blows

Integrating wind assisted propulsion into vessel designs introduces requirements for greater flexibility, Stevie Knight hears.

40 MS100 – MAN ES

As part of our series of articles celebrating The Motorship’s centenary, we feature an interview with MAN ES’s Vice President, Head of R&D 2-Stroke Business Brian Østergaard Sørensen.

100

YEARS

2020

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

Stay in touch at propulsionconference.com

JUNE 2020 | 3

NEWS REVIEW

VIEWPOINT

LOW-LOAD TUNING GOES A STAGE FURTHER

NICK EDSTROM | Editor nedstrom@motorship.com

Trust and performance Writing shortly after China abandoned its real GDP target for 2020, my mind turned back to current Chinese President Li Keqiang, who first gained prominence in economic circles for suggesting monitoring alternative indicators as a proxy for China’s real GDP growth in the late 2000s.

Official economic results were unreliable because local results were inflated. Strong penalties for failure and weak oversight mechanisms created the perfect conditions for misreporting results upwards. Or as the Chinese proverb has it: “The mountains are high, and Beijing is far away.”

It is a testament to the resilience of the R&D teams at a number of leading OEMs that (regardless of local terrain) they are continuing to bring technological innovations to market at an astonishing pace, despite working under challenging conditions during the Covid-19 outbreak. The resilience of the industry as a whole has been one of the least discussed successes of recent months and deserves to be celebrated on social media.

Leading OEMs’ success in creating high performing product development teams is also striking. Brian Østergaard Sørensen, Vice President, Head of R&D 2-Stroke Business at MAN Energy Solutions spoke about project management discipline during an interview with The Motorship in May. The delivery of the first Mark10.6 engines with sequential injection earlier this year (which we cover on page 4) and gas optimisation have been achieved. The company is continuing to work towards delivering its ME-GA low pressure gas engine by 2022, whilst developing solutions for a number of alternative fuels.

In our four-stroke special this month, Stevie Knight considers two alternative approaches to combustion technology that have attracted interest, in part because of their potential applicability to alternative fuels. The first, Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) delivers improvements in fuel efficiency and reduced emissions but suffers from a narrow operating window. The second, Reactivity Controlled Combustion Ignition (RCCI), holds out the promise of a broader operating window and higher power density, by introducing another fuel with different autoignition properties at a later point in the cycle.

After the magazine went to press, WinGD launched an exhaust gas recirculation-based innovation (iCER) for its latest X-DF engines, which will lower its methane slip emissions by up to 50% and opens up the door to higher power density ratios. The company has also discussed variable compression ratio (VCR) technology as an area that might lead to further efficiency improvements.

Elsewhere in the magazine, Geir Bjørkeli, CEO at battery supplier Corvus, discusses emerging demand for energy storage solutions for cargo and tanker vessels in an interview this month. Our batteries feature includes a dedicated feature addressing the implications of wind-assisted propulsion for larger vessels.

Finally, Voith Group has also announced the launch of an electric variant of their VSP solution. Intriguingly, the solution company claims that the solution offers “virtually loss-free conversion of the electrical drive power with dynamic response characteristics”.

We hope to cover the product in more detail in our thruster and propulsors feature next month.

4 | JUNE 2020

A new tuning method has improved the part-load efficiency of the most powerful engine in the two-stroke portfolio of MAN Energy Solutions, writes David Tinsley.

The incremental gain in fuel consumption, most pronounced in the low-load range down to 25%, has been achieved with the G95ME-C Mark 10 series through sequential fuel injection and turbocharger optimisation.

Hitherto, with the G95ME-C10.5 design, engine process tuning (EPT) has been available to improve part- or low-load specific fuel oil consumption(SFOC). In the latest advance, engines incorporating the new, low-load optimised tuning are designated G95ME-C10.6 LL-SEQ. Compared to existing low-load tuning methods as adopted with the C10.5, SFOC reductions achieved with the G95ME-C10.6 iteration are as follows: 5 0.0g/kWh at 100% load; 5 1.5g/kWh at 85% load; 5 1.5g/kWh at 75% load; 5 3.0g/kWh at 50% load; 5 3.0g/kWh at 25% load.

The advance in tuning is available for Tier II engines, Tier III engines with exhaust gas recirculation cut-out(EGRTC), and Tier III models with lowpressure or high-pressure selective catalytic reduction (LPSCR/HPSCR).

Sequential fuel injection has the primary aim of controlling the NOx emission level in the high-load operating range. This employs a new fuel booster injection valve (FBIV), which enables independent control of

8 The latest G95ME-C10.6 LL-SEQ engine type features an incremental improvement in fuel consumption in the low load range compared with G95ME-C10.5 engines (pictured)

injection for each fuel valve.

Optimised turbocharging improves SFOC in the low-load area with limited impact on NOx emissions.

The latest MAN ES engine programme attributes an SFOC consumption of 151.5g/kWh to the G95ME-C10.6 in its low-load SEQ format at 50% load, compared to the 154.5g/kWh of the C10.5 model in its low-load EPT version. At 75% load, the SEQ and EPT variants burn 155 and 157g/kWh, respectively, while the consumption at 100% load is the same for both, at 164.5g/kWh. The G95ME-C10.6 engine is available in five- to 12-cylinder configuration, and its ‘longlegged’ design combines a cylinder bore of 950mm with a stroke of 3,460mm. Output is unchanged from the C10.5. Thus, the 12G95ME-C10.6 provides a power concentration of 82,440kW on a crankshaft speed of 80rpm at the L1 maximum continuous rating (MCR), at a mean effective pressure of 21 bar.

The potent G95ME-C two-stroke class was developed for ultra-large containership installations. The layout diagram affords customers substantial flexibility when specifying precise power and speed requirements.

Thus the 12G95ME-C Mark 10 can be delivered at 4,520kW per cylinder at 70rpm (L4 rating), up to the L1 specification of 6,870kW per cylinder at 80rpm.

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

Technical competence Service with passion We at MAN PrimeServ understand that performance and reliability are paramount to your business. You need technical competence that drives your success. MAN PrimeServ’s many decades of hands-on experience and its diverse portfolio provide this. With MAN PrimeServ as \RXU SDUWQHU \RX EHQHÀ W IURP VWDWH RI WKH DUW WHFKQLFDO DQG GLJLWDO VROXWLRQV WKDW À W \RXU LQGLYLGXDO VLWXDWLRQ :KDW·V PRUH WKHVH EHQHÀ WV DUH EURXJKW GLUHFWO\ WR \RXU EXVLQHVV through a global network of local experts. Whatever the time and wherever you are in the world, you can count on MAN PrimeServ as a strong service solution provider for your needs.

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NEWS REVIEW Total Lubmarine received an approval from MAN Energy Solutions for its Talusia Universal cylinder oil on 19 May, indicating the firm’s confidence in the product.

The No Objection Letter (NOL) was received following successful tests carried out on an 8S50MC-C MAN B&W two-stroke engine in 2019, operating on IMO 2020-compliant low sulphur fuel (VLSFO, max 0.50%S). MAN ES engineers carried out inspections at the start, in the middle and at the end of the tests, and concluded that the performance of Talusia Universal was acceptable.

The NOL supersedes preceding NOLs issued by MAN ES covering Talusia Universal.

Total Lubmarine’s Global Marketing Director Serge Dal Farra commented: “In the future,

MAN ES APPROVAL FOR TALUSIA UNIVERSAL CYLINDER OIL

we will recommend as a first choice TALUSIA Universal for MAN engines running on MGO or ULSFO because our in-service experience shows a better operational safety margin and a

better cleaning ability as requested by MAN ES. In line with MAN ES’s new Service Letter, Talusia LS 40 can also be used for this application.”

Dal Farra added: “We can

confirm because its approval tests that TALUSIA Universal can be used continuously with 2020 compliant fuels, and has also proven to provide additional safety margins compared to 40 BN cylinder oil, achieving the lowest recommended LOFR when based on visual inspection and drain oil analysis.”

Dal Farra concluded by noting, “Customers have not experienced any particular issue with our Talusia LS 25, and we will continue to supply this product while there is demand from the market. However, we note MAN’s new Service Letter does not list BN 15 to BN 25 cylinder oils.”

CATERPILLAR TO SELL OFF CATERPILLAR PROPULSION AB Caterpillar Luxembourg SARL has agreed to sell Caterpillar Propulsion AB and its subsidiaries to a holding company controlled by former Berg Propulsion coo Stefan Sedersten Caterpillar Propulsion AB is a manufacturer of mechanically and electrically driven propulsion systems and marine controls for ships. The sale is expected to close on 30 June 2020.

The proposed divestment covers Caterpillar Propulsion AB and its subsidiaries, including Caterpillar Propulsion Production AB, as well as Caterpillar Propulsion Pte. Ltd, its subsidiary

BRIEFS EC Brexit notices

The European Commission issued several readiness notices to member states in early June, ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period. Port state control relations will be governed by Paris MoU rules, while automatic endorsement of seafarer qualifications will end. The ship recycling readiness notice confirms that UK shipyards (except Belfastbased Harland & Wolff) will no longer be eligible for inclusion on the list of approved EU yards.

6 | JUNE 2020

Caterpillar Propulsion International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd and its Dubai branch.

The transaction will also include the manufacturing operations in Sweden and Singapore and office locations in

Shanghai and Dubai.

Prior to its acquisition by Caterpillar in 2013, Berg Propulsion had a long track record in controllable pitch propeller and heavy-duty thruster design and build.

Sedersten intends to resurrect the Berg Propulsion brand. Upon the closure of the sale, the products and services will revert to Berg Propulsion branding.

Stefan Sedersten was previously the COO and shareholder of Berg Propulsion AB and is currently chairman of Lean Marine Sweden AB and I-Tech AB, businesses focused on marine equipment and vessel optimization.

Stefan Sedersten is committed

to preserve continuity with Caterpillar customers and dealers and to maintain a close business relationship with Caterpillar Inc., supporting both MaK and Cat marine sales, as well as developing its products and services further with other customers in the marine sector.

The current team within Caterpillar Propulsion will transfer with the sale ensuring continuity of support for current and future customers.

“My message to customers, suppliers and other external partners is clear - we will honour all existing contracts and agreements and make sure to safeguard a seamless transition,” Sedersten said.

Wärtsilä ICU upgrade

Damen ZEV dredger

Pure gas 16V trial

8 Caterpillar Propulsion’s propeller and thruster products could soon come under the Berg Propulsion brand

Wärtsilä is offering an upgrading solution for its FuelFlex ICU to meet the requirements of operating its RT-flex type two-stroke diesel engines with both residual and low-viscosity marine fuels. The solution is available for retrofitting on vessels with Wärtsilä RTflex96C-B and RT-flex84T-D two-stroke engines, and is expected to reduce premature wear to the ICU sealing area arising from the switch to lower viscosity, low sulphur fuels.

Damen has launched a variant of its established Cutter Suction Dredger (CSD) 650, replacing dredge and hydro pumps with WEG electric motors. Damen exchanged the diesel motor for the dredge pump for a 1,850kW WEG electric motor, without need for re-engineering.

As a result, zero emissions dredging projects are possible, where shore power connections are supplied by a renewable source.

Sea trials of Rolls Royce Power Systems’ first pure gas mobile MTU series 4000 engines began at the end of May. Two mobile 16-cylinder LNG engines, each with an output of 1,492kW, have been installed aboard a ferry in the Netherlands. The 70m Willem Barentsz will be operated by Royal Doeksen, one of the largest Dutch ferry operators. Development of an 8-cylinder pure gas Series 4000 engine for operation in Lake Constanz continues.

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

PureSOx Express

Ahead on smaller vessels

Saving is simpler with PureSOx Express For smaller vessels like handymax bulkers or product tankers, the cost of installing a SOx scrubber has sometimes outweighed the benefits. That changes with Alfa Laval PureSOx Express.

Adapted for a cost-efficient fit, PureSOx Express is a preconfigured module for up to 75 tonnes of exhaust gas per hour and engine power up to 10 MW. That makes it a one-size-fits-all solution for many vessels of 40,000–65,000 DWT. Explore the big news for smaller vessels at www.alfalaval.com/puresox

LEADER BRIEFING

GROWTH IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS Geir Bjørkeli, CEO at battery supplier Corvus, cites the strength of the company’s maritime heritage and technologies in an interview with The Motorship When The Motorship interviewed Geir Bjørkeli, chief executive officer of Corvus, in early June, there was little sign of the Covid-19 pandemic slowing down business.

“We saw new orders slow in March naturally enough, but business has rebounded strongly. In fact, we are seeing increasing interest in energy storage solutions for cargo and tanker vessels: we have signed four orders in the last few weeks alone.”

Corvus remains the leading supplier of batteries for hybrid and electrically propelled vessels, and Corvus batteries have been installed in over 200 vessels globally.

Passenger vessels and ferries remain Corvus’ main clients with close to 90 vessels having batteries supplied, although Bjørkeli identified tugs as another interesting vessel class.

Corvus was contracted to supply the batteries for the world’s first zero emission tug, the Zeetug now operating in Turkey.

This strong position is far removed from the company’s humble beginnings, when two men working in a garage in Vancouver set out to develop a battery system that could cope with the physical demands of installation in ships and boats.

Yet the company’s success reflects its roots, with a focus on R&D and on the marine sector.

“We have achieved our leading position in the market because of our strong maritime DNA.” Since then, the company has focused almost exclusively on the marine sector. “We have been the pioneers in so many marine applications and I think this is because we have concentrated on maritime applications rather than the much larger automotive sector,” Bjørkeli said.

The focus on maritime applications has been important in helping Corvus meet safety and reliability requirements.

Obtaining class approval can be a costly process, but Corvus has now received approval from most of the main classification societies. “The type approval process acts as a barrier to entry for newcomers into the marine battery market”, comments Bjørkeli. “This makes it much harder for the competition to catch up”.

“We have been involved in some capacity in almost every marine-related all-electric and hybrid project. This extensive experience has taught us that one size does not fit all maritime applications,” says Bjørkeli. “For that reason, we continue to invest in R&D and expanding our ESS product portfolio. Our main research and development team is in Vancouver numbers around 30, while a further eight are employed here in Norway.”

The investment in R&D has helped Corvus expand its product portfolio, which now covers seven different batteries.

These range from the original Orca range of batteries to specialized ranges for installation in faster vessels and for subsea operations. The Blue Marlin range is based on capacitor technology and is designed to cope with sudden very high power demands. These are thought to be the first commercially available large capacitor batteries.

Nevertheless, battery costs remain a key influence on

8 | JUNE 2020

payback periods. “We have continued to drive down costs for our battery systems recognising that battery costs are a significant part of the overall costs of electrification”, said Bjørkeli. “We continue to bring the costs down but without compromising on the quality. I think that one of the secrets of our success has been the way in which our batteries can be adapted to meet the requirements of a wide variety of vessels. With the range of battery types now available we can tailor the battery installation to the size and shape of the space available and this makes the job of the naval architect much easier. For any specific installation the weight, the stack shape and the volume can all be changed to meet specific requirements.”

Corvus is investing in a fully automated factory in Norway to lower the cost of producing their batteries. “The automation starts with the unpacking of parts and continues right through to the testing of the finished products.” commented Bjørkeli. The plant will have a capacity to produce 400 MWh per year while a similar plant in Canada is nearing completion.

“We anticipate that our facilities output will satisfy demand for many years to come.”

“We are investing in both of these strategically located facilities to enable us to quickly develop, test and build new systems that can meet current and future needs of the industry.” Bjørkeli continues.

Corvus’s largest R&D investment to date – the Blue Whale ESS will be ready for delivery in 2021. With reduced weight, cost and volume compared to existing technology, it will offer improved energy efficiency and extended zero emission mode operations for vessels that have slower charge and discharge requirements, like tankers and cruiseships.

8 Geir Bjørkeli, CEO at battery supplier Corvus

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

SHIP DESIGN

COMPOSITES OFFER EEDI SOLUTION FOR ROPAX SEGMENT

Photo: Pixabay Angus Taylor

Composites have a place on ferries, writes Stevie Knight, but just how effective these changes will be depends on commitment

Certainly, tightening EEDI regulations will be challenging for a broad swath of larger ferries: “Ten years ago, if the drawings for a ro-ro showed 9.5mm plate but the yard had a 10mm stock, you could substitute it,” says Finn Wollesen of Knud E Hansen (KEH). “Now it’s just not possible to do that and keep within EEDI design limitations.”

And whether ropax, ro-ro or conro, the EEDI stands to demand increased effort from both designers and yards.

However, weight has always been “a sensitive subject” he adds.

Therefore, it might be assumed that any load shedding innovation would be grabbed with both hands: but that’s not quite been the case, says Wollesen. KEH was involved in the Stena Britannica conversion back in 2007, the 30m lengthening also added a substantial area to the superstructure.

This might have been the moment that composites entered the picture, as there was the potential for reducing the extra weight by half, saving around 45t.

However, the litany of reasons to drop the idea was pretty comprehensive: too expensive for a conversion which can’t adequately spread the extra price over the vessel’s lifetime; yards aren’t familiar with the technology, potentially increasing build price, and the “party killer”; SOLAS demanded lengthy testing to prove fire and structural equivalence to steel, plus a risk that even then, conservative flag states would reject the vessel. Altogether, it was enough to send everyone back to the comfort of steel.

Despite all this, could composites now be reconsidered?

Possibly. A plethora of projects are aimed at solving the issues, which range from “performance, joining and repairs to general upkeep” says Ville Wejberg of Deltamarin. But Wejberg and Wollesen both note that the single most

10 | JUNE 2020

8 Composites could be first introduced on ‘non-loadbearing’ elements such as funnels - but where does that leave the larger economies?

important challenge is “fire safety regulation”, which makes recent advances in areas such as biocomposites and fireretardant materials - for example, products from Melodea very interesting, especially as they are about to enter an assessment phase focused on deck, bulkhead and wall applications. Importantly, a run of presentations at IMO could change the view on SOLAS rules when they come up for revision next year.

DESIGN LOOP Despite FRP remaining metre-for-metre, “more expensive than steel” says Wejberg, there is another important dynamic at play. As drag on the wet area increases exponentially with speed, reducing weight becomes more of an issue: Wejberg’s colleague Mia Elg points out, “basically... the faster the ship is, the more it makes financial sense to consider composite materials”.

However, according to Marcel Elenbaas of Damen, development needs to follow the “overall design loop” all the way round for FRP to fulfil its potential.

For example, a 40m, 450 pax DFF4010 aluminium fast ferry with an average transit speed around 34kn was translated into a carbon fibre design, reducing the structural weight by 12 tonnes. However, just sticking at that would yield “marginal benefits” says Elenbaas.

Instead, what you are really looking for is a “positive design spiral”, he explains.

“For example, on a fast cat, the engine size is what tends to determine the beam of the demihulls”, therefore reducing the engine width means you can narrow the shape of the wet areas. “That’s the biggest saving, because you have less

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

SHIP DESIGN hydrodynamic resistance,” he explains. Further, in total the weight came down by 27 tonnes.

All together the fuel consumption reduction is predicted to reach around 15% to 20%. “Even given the expense of carbon fibre we see customers realising break-even in three to five years,” he adds.

BIT BY BIT But - despite the advantages - many owners may want to take it slowly.

In Wejberg’s view, composites will work their way into builds from “easy to hard... and low weight-loss to high”.

Cabins and interiors “have been on a weight reduction diet for some time”, he adds. Although FRP could make a difference to balconies, next will be ‘non-loadbearing’ elements such as “funnels, masts, hatches, stores, deck canopies, attractions and so on”, he predicts. This slower revolution has already been initiated by other substitutions, remarks Wollesen: “As aluminium has already shown weight savings it should be easier to introduce new materials.”

The issue, as demonstrated by Stena Brittanica, is the elusive ‘tipping point’ where the positive design spiral begins to mitigate the higher costs. Flowship Design’s Vito Radolovic has worked on modular FRP tweendecks for a car carrier with notable success, but he remarks that given ferries’ typical car deck structures “composites probably won’t make enough of a weight change” to make it worthwhile.

It may take the wider introduction of larger, heavier elements “such as superstructure blocks”, says Wejberg.

Logically, he adds this will be followed by entire superstructures created from composites. Despite a few inroads by commercial vessels - including the concept design for a riverboat sundeck which had a 1:1 section pass IMO fire tests - they’re slow to be realised, leaving a ‘chicken and egg’ circularity to composites’ market viability.

MORE THAN SPEED However, tipping the balance in the other direction are zeroemission ambitions. Even recent Li-ion batteries have energy-densities far below diesel, the increased weight adding hydrodynamic resistance which means in turn more batteries to propel the hull through the water.

Therefore, cDynamics have used composites to break that negative spiral on Norway’s 29.9m Barmøy car ferry: “The weight of a composite ferry is estimated to be 40 to 50% lower than that of a similar ferry in steel,” says Edvardsen, reducing the wet area and lowering water resistance.

Further, on Damen’s drawing board is an electric version of its Waterbus - but this is a carbon fibre design. It’s not the kind of material usually associated with low-speed craft “but here the object is not to save fuel but battery capacity”, says Elenbaas.

different parts to fit together with only a 10mm tolerance.”

That is the maximum that can be used for an adhesively bonded joint according to Bureau Veritas rules, requiring high-quality, 5-axis CNC milling machines for the plugs “otherwise you have to rely on over-lamination, which needs a fatigue risk analysis”, he explains.

So, what about larger builds? Damen’s Vlissingen yard is also home to the RAMSSES project demonstrator build, a shipblock for an 80m seagoing patrol boat that meets SOLAS regulations.

While an enclosed vacuum infusion is less sensitive to the external environment than an open one, there are still challenges, he says: “We want to show that we can do it in a typical steel yard, without a clean room enclosing a large area.”

It required the development of a new, vinylester-based resin by Evonik, suitable for large scale infusions; further, the 6m-high hull section needs “outlets and inlets configured to allow a progressive infusion, from bottom to top, in stages”, says Joe Summers of Airborne UK, plus vacuum bag technology that stops the lower layers distorting under the weight of those above.

Despite the learning curve, there is a demand: “Yards are looking into lighter materials, those with greater investment in R&D more so”, says Wejberg.

DESIGN Composite structures might give new ferry designs a little more freedom. As Elg points out, stability benefits “if weight from the upper decks can be reduced”, adding that in some cases “this may even be critical”.

However, scaling up vessels may not be straightforward points out Knut Inge Edvardsen of cDynamics. Somewhere around 60m “and you may find the ferry has a greater bending moment”, he explains, calling for internal stiffening.

Moreover, while aluminium and steel welds exhibit close to continuous strength, FRP requires “taking care over the load carrying capacity at every T or cross-joint”, he explains: fibres tend to span internal joins in one direction but not in the other, so strength relies on glue connections instead.

These create unfamiliar, yet critical issues for the yards to consider.

Finally, will the idea fly?

The rules do need to be updated: for SOLAS ships a full risk-assessment on the design is necessary even before signing the contract, “so that is where the regulations have to change, taking out the upfront uncertainty”, says Elenbaas.

There are other factors, such as risk (both real and perceived) to add to the mix. Personality may also be decisive: “You need visionary business leaders”, he adds. With characteristic realism, Wollesen points out that “it also requires a company large enough to absorb some of the risks”.

8 Translating a 40m, 450 pax DFF4010 fast ferry into a carbon fibre design could do more than just bring down structural weight

YARDS It all needs buy-in from the shipyards: “Most yards want to do things the way they’ve always done them,” points out Wollesen, Wejberg adding: there’s a lack of prior experience and practices - while steel is ‘tried and true’.” Despite this he notes that “steel also took its time to get into shipbuilding”.

However, a few are ready to jump into a gap in the market.

Despite its focus on slightly smaller craft, the experience of Damen’s specialist epoxy yard in Antalya, Turkey, remains relevant as ship builds will likely be accomplished through the kind of modular approach it has specialised in, as this yields “something between a custom and series construction”, says Elenbaas: “In practice, it means keeping tight control over the vacuum infusion process, because you need these

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

JUNE 2020 | 11

FUELS & LUBRICANTS

MAN ES SERVICE LETTER CREATES PREMIUM LUBE TIER MAN Energy Solutions cancelled NOLs for 15-25 BN cylinder oils and introduced a higher category of cylinder oils in a far-reaching service letter A service letter published by MAN ES at the end of May is having ving farreaching implications for the e two-stroke marine lubrication market.. In SL2020-694 Cylinder and system oils MAN AN B&W low-speed two-stroke engines, MAN has as introduced a new cylinder oil strategy.

A new category of higher er performing cylinder oils, Category II, is being introduced. roduced. Cat. II cylinder oils are recommended for MAN AN B&W Mark 9 engines and subsequent generations. s.

A subordinate category of cylinder oil, Category I, includes lube oils covered by existing No Objection Letters (NOLs) and is applicable able for MAN B&W Mark 8 engines and earlier types.

According to MAN ES, the he cylinder oil strategy has been introduced in order to stimulate the development and usage of higher performing ming cylinder oils for <0.50% S fuels. Such fuels are expected ted to remain the dominant fuel type over the coming years. ears.

MAN ES’s service experience erience has identified the importance of maintaining cleanliness of the piston rings and crowns in achieving acceptable time between overhaul (TBO) of the cylinder der units. This is a particular focus for MAN ES’s most modern odern engines, which feature higher pressures and higher temperatures, placing higher performance demands upon n lubricants.

Cylinder oil guidelines The new service letter does not affect MAN ES’s existing cylinder oil guidelines, which the company plans to update later in 2020.

The most recent cylinder oil guidelines, SL2019-671 Cylinder lubrication update for 0 to 0.50% sulphur fuels, remain in force.

The focus is on monitoring the cylinder condition and ensure that the piston ring pack is clean and moving freely. In case of excessive depositing, use cylinder oil with a higher cleaning ability (Cat II / BN100).

The alternation time period between high and low BN oils can range from a couple of days to over 300 running hours, as long as the crew make scavenge port inspections, monitor the condition closely and take action if the condition deteriorates.

MAN ES stresses the importance of monitoring the cylinder condition. Drain oil samples should be taken, analysed and evaluated. Action should be taken if the analysis shows deterioration, by e.g. increasing iron content.

12 | JUNE 2020

WITHDRAWAL OF 15-25BN CYLINDER WITHDR OIL NOL Alongside the introduction of a new category for advanced cylind cylinder oils, MAN ES has withdrawn NOL approvals from the majority of low BN oils in the market, including some of the best-selling cylinder oils in lubricant suppliers’ portfolios. A few 1520 BN cylinder oils have retained their NOL status. by noting that many of MAN ES justified this decision d the low BN cylinder oils (15-25 BN) have not met the cleanliness requirements of the newest MAN B&W engines. While a number of 100 and 140 BN oils have successfully passed throug through the Cat. II process (see table below), no 40 BN Cat. II cylinder oils are currently available. cylin

8 Category II cylinder oils

Company

140BN

100BN

Castrol

Cyltech 140

Cyltech 100

Chevron

Taro Ultra 140

Taro Ultra 100

ExxonMobil

Mobilgard 5145

Mobilgard 5100

Gulf Oil Marine

Gulfsea Cylcare 50100S

JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy

Marine C1005

Lukoil

Navigo 140 MC

Navigo 100 MCL

Shell

Shell Alexia 140

Shell Alexia 100

Sinopec Total Lubmarine

Advice for Mark 9 and higher & new-builds For operators and owners of newbuild vessels and vessels with Mark 9 type engines, MAN ES suggests the use of a Cat. I 40BN and Cat. II 100BN with alternation (if necessary) or with the cylinder oil available as according to the recommendations in SL2019-671.

If the cylinder condition is acceptable when using Cat. I 40 BN oil, there is no need for alternation with a Cat. II 100BN oil. However, if the Cat. I 40 BN oil lacks sufficient cleaning ability, a Cat. II 100 BN oil could facilitate the situation.

0.10% S fuel operation, what cylinder oil to use?

MAN ES notes that a few low BN cylinder oils (15-25 BN) have retained their NOL approval.

These can be used according to SL2019-671.

Meanwhile, Cat. I 40 BN cylinder lubricants are available and will in many cases be used instead of 15-25 BN products.

As with the advice for newbuilds, MAN ES advises monitoring the condition and in case of deposits, use oil with a higher cleaning ability.

Sinopec Marine Cylinder Oil 50100 Talusia HR 140

Talusia Universal 100

What should be done with 15-25 BN already on-board?

MAN ES is not recommending the costly, time-consuming process of de-bunkering cylinder oil. The ROB lubricants can be used up before bunkering a new cylinder oil. MAN ES recommends that the guidance in SL2019-671 is followed when deciding upon cylinder oils.

Where no issues have been identified, the lube oil can be used as previously. One option might be alternating between low and high BN cylinder oils. MAN ES recommends this for vessels operating within ECA areas on 0.10% S ULSFO continuously. This could also be an option for ME-GIs using <0.1% S ULSFO as pilot fuel.

A third option would be to use Cat. II 100 BN oils. While Cat. II oils will provide the best cleaning performance, the higher Calcium Carbonate content may lead to increased deposits on the crown and after the combustion chamber. If used continuously, it is important to maintain observations for depositing.

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

FUELS & LUBRICANTS

KEEPING ENGINES RUNNING AMID 2020 FUEL CHALLENGES Early reports on the variable quality of very low-sulphur fuel oils confirm research highlighting the need for robust cylinder lubrication when using the new fuel blends Looking back on the first three month since the implementation of IMO’s global sulphur cap, it seems that concerns over the variability of new very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) blends were justified. To cite just one example, Lloyd’s Register’s Fuel Oil Bunker Analysis and Advisory Service (FOBAS) has issued three alerts on excessive sediments in VLSFO. FOBAS’ analysis shows that five percent of all VLSFO samples taken in Singapore in the first two months of 2020 had high sediment volumes. In Rotterdam the figure rises to 23%.

The widespread problem highlights the variable quality of the available blends. According to Ian Bown, technical manager, marine diesel engine oils at lubricant additive technology company Lubrizol Corp, there are two likely reasons for excessive sediment: the variable stability of individual fuels; and the mixture of incompatible fuels, for example when tanks have not been fully cleaned prior to the use of VLSFO. Sediment is not just a theoretical issue. It has already affected ship operations, causing sludging and blocking filters. Whether the cause of sediment is mixing of incompatible fuels or variable stability, the precipitation of asphaltenes from the solution is a potential contributing factor. Asphaltenes - high molecular weight molecules that are particularly sensitive to changes in a fuel blend’s overall composition - can cause problems along the fuel line if they fall out of solution.

The early sediment issues support findings of research conducted by Lubrizol before the sulphur cap entered force, in which bench and engine tests revealed a high degree of variability in deposit formation and combustion characteristics among VLSFO blends, even using samples acquired from a relatively small geographical area. The findings led Lubrizol to note that existing lubricants are not adequate to offer protection from issues caused by widely variable VLSFOs. TESTING VLSFOS BEFORE 2020 In early 2019 Lubrizol embarked on a research project to help it understand the characteristics of VLSFOs, their effect on engine deposits and how lubricants perform when used with these fuels. Lubrizol closely examined five such fuels available in China (one of the only markets where they were available before late 2019) alongside five VLSFOs blended by its in-house laboratory. The results demonstrated how appropriate additives can effectively reduce the impact of fuel variability, with enhanced deposit control improving engine durability.

The fuels sourced in China provide a good example of VLSFOs that meet the ISO 8217:2017 marine fuel standard.

But during use Lubrizol observed measurable differences in deposit formation. These blends are manufactured from normal refinery components that meet the specifications for residual fuels set out in the ISO standard. But even using these well-known fuel streams, the formation of deposits

14 | JUNE 2020

can vary considerably between blends. To study this, piston groove cleanliness was tested using three different batches of VLSFO and a reference cylinder lubricant. One of the three engine tests showed increased deposit formation. As the engine operating conditions were similar, the difference can be attributed to a variation in fuel properties.

“Even within the same small sourcing area, variation can be seen to affect the amount of deposit formed in the engine,” explains Lubrizol technology manager, marine diesel engine oils, Harriet Brice. “With the global expansion of 0.5% sulphur fuels the variation could be even greater as more atypical blend constituents are used to meet demand. Using a more robust lubricant will help to reduce the impact to the engine of this variability.”

8 Ian Bown, technical manager, marine diesel engine oils at Lubrizol Corp

COMPATIBILITY AND STABILITY Compatibility concerns around VLSFOs relate to the comingling of incompatible bunkers and can be managed through tank segregation until compatibility can be confirmed through testing. Stability refers to each individual fuel blend being a stable product. A contributing factor underlying both is asphaltene stability.

One way of characterising fuel composition is by determining the quantity of saturate, aromatic, resin and asphaltene (SARA) fractions. These components are each associated with asphaltene stability and so this technique

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

FUELS & LUBRICANTS can be useful in identifying fuels with the potential for stability issues.

As well as establishing the SARA measurements, Lubrizol also probed the stability of the commercial VLSFOs using a proprietary bench test. The three most unstable blends were then tested with two additives: a detergent known to be effective in deposit control and asphaltene stabilisation (additive 1) and a novel dispersant known to be effective in deposit and varnish control and asphaltene stabilisation (additive 2). The novel dispersant was shown to be the most effective in the engine by controlling deposit formation on piston lands and in piston ring grooves with this fuel.

“Detergents are not the only additives in the formulators tool kit,” explains Brice. “Dispersants are very good at piston cleanliness. They have been used in automotive applications for many years but are not commonplace in marine cylinder oils for deposit control.”

In order to determine the appropriate BN and deposit control requirements of cylinder lubricants for use with 0.5% sulphur fuels, Lubrizol formulated a series of BN25 and BN40 oils and tested these with commercially available VLSFO blends in a stationary two-stroke marine diesel engine.

Scrapedown samples were used to tell if the lubricant was delivering enough protection from corrosive wear.

To maintain corrosion protection, residual BN of scrapedown oil should be maintained at around 15 or higher, according to OEM guidance at the time of development. The average residual BN for the BN25 oils across all tests was 12.5 compared to an average of 24.2 for the BN40 oils. Lubrizol therefore concluded that BN40 was the most appropriate level for oils used with VLSFOs, providing enough base reserve to meet OEM guidance while allowing some margin for more corrosive engine types and operating conditions.

‘‘

With the global expansion of 0.5% sulphur fuels the variation could be even greater as more atypical blend constituents are used to meet demand. Using a more robust lubricant will help to reduce the impact to the engine of this variability

additive package provides basicity at BN40. It also offers deposit handling performance through the novel dispersant additive technology. This technology, deployed for the first time in marine lubricants, has been balanced with detergents to offer robust protection from the expected wide variability in VLSFO fuel characteristics.

Lubrizol’s findings are clear: the additive chemistries found in traditional marine diesel cylinder lubricants may not suffice for the challenges of handling VLSFO blends. More advanced solutions are needed to tackle deposit formation without relying on the high-base detergents that were a mainstay of cylinder oils used with high-sulphur fuels. Lubrizol’s BN40 additive package, deploying novel dispersant technology to marine cylinder oils, is specifically formulated for handling low-sulphur fuels.

The results of the research and the need for more robust lubricants when using VLSFOs now appears to have been supported by early experience in the field.

“A noticeable amount of fuel variation has been recorded in the market,” concludes Bown. “Consideration should be given to the combustion effects of the fuel and the demands placed upon the cylinder lubricant used. We would advise any lubricant purchase decision makers to consider how their oil will meet the challenges coming from the known and widely publicised concerns relating to these new fuels.”

A Lubrizol advanced dispersant known to be effective at addressing piston groove deposits and varnish was used to formulate one of the BN25 oils for comparison with a conventionally formulated oil. The lubricant with advanced dispersant had superior piston cleanliness with lower deposit formation in the piston ring grooves and on the piston lands.

The BN25 oil with advanced dispersant also offered improved performance than a conventionally formulated BN40 oil, demonstrating that performance can be delivered independently of BN. The testing demonstrated that BN40 oils previously developed for use with fuels with a sulphur content of up to 1.5% may not provide the performance required to handle VLSFOs. It also demonstrated the effectiveness of dispersants to bring additional performance in the area of piston cleanliness compared to conventionally formulated oils when using these fuel blends.

These findings have fed into the development of Lubrizol’s new additive package for cylinder lubricants to be used with VLSFOs. In line with engine designer recommendations, the

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

8 A novel dispersant performed strongly in tests for controlling deposit formation on piston lands and in piston ring grooves

8 Lubrizol carried out research into the characteristics of VLSFOs and their effect on engine deposits in 2019

JUNE 2020 | 15

FUELS & LUBRICANTS

IMO-2020 COMPLIANT FUELS AND HEAT-SENSITIVE CARGO Some of the new VLSFO fuels have a characteristic that can be troublesome if the vessel is carrying heat-sensitive cargo, writes Alvin Forster of North P&I The entry into force of IMO 2020 has led to the introduction of a range of new blended very low sulphur fuel oils into the bunker market. Early experience shows that the properties of the new blended VLSFOs can vary significantly. Some are very low in viscosity, similar to distillate fuels, while some closely resemble traditional high-viscosity heavy fuel oil products. Most are somewhere in between.

The molecular structure of these new fuels has an impact on their storage and use. Some of the new VLSFOs are paraffinic in nature whereas the heavy fuels used previously were asphaltenic. The issue with these paraffinic VLSFOs is that they are more prone to waxing.

THE PROBLEM WITH WAX If wax begins to form in the ship’s fuel storage tanks, it will be very difficult to pump. Transfer pump filters and pipelines are likely to become choked. If wax formation is extensive, the vessel’s tank heating systems may struggle to re-liquefy the fuel. Manual extraction of wax from the tank might then be required, but this is a costly and time-consuming exercise.

The key, quite simply, is to keep the fuel above the temperature at which wax starts to form.

FINDING THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE Before VLSFOs hit the market, determining the cold-flow properties of marine fuels was straightforward. Distillate fuels, such as marine gas oil, were tested to give cloud-point (CP) and cold-filter-plugging-point (CFPP) temperatures, while

8 Alvin Forster, Loss Prevention Executive, North P&I

residual fuels (e.g. RMG 380) were tested for pour point (PP). ever, the CP and CFPP tests only apply to distillates because they are clear in appearance; they do not work on opaque fuels such as VLSFOs. This leaves the PP test, but because of the paraffinic nature of these fuels, there is a risk that wax can still form at temperatures higher than the traditional PP + 10°C ‘rule of thumb’ for heavy fuels.

An alternative means of measuring the cold-flow properties of a VLSFO is the wax appearance test. Developed by fuel analysis experts VPS, this test does not, however, form part of the suite of tests usually carried out on bunkered fuel under ISO 8217. It cannot be conducted on board and must be specifically requested to the testing laboratory.

WARM FUEL, DAMAGED CARGO Whatever the test method, the fuel analysis report provided to a vessel could recommend a relatively high fuel-storage and transfer temperature to prevent waxing and solidification.

In such cases, there is a risk that the temperature of the fuel in tanks located adjacent to cargo holds could damage heat-sensitive cargo. For example, according to BMT’s Cargo Handbook, a bulk cargo of raw sugar is at risk of caking at temperatures as low as 25°C. If cargo is loaded into a hold located above a hot double-bottom fuel tank, there is a significant chance of damage occurring.

GOOD FUEL MANAGEMENT Know your fuel: A ship’s chief chie engineer is not able to specify the cold-flow characterist characteristics of a VLSFO when ordering bunkers. As the definition of a VLSFO is broad, it is a case of getting what you are given. It is therefore essential that the shipboard engineers identify id the characteristics of the fuel soon after bunkering. IIn this way, they can store and handle the fuel at the right te temperature and will be aware of the risks if the vessel subse subsequently loads a heat-sensitive cargo.

An analysis analys report revealing that a fuel has a high paraffinic content mig might prompt the crew to transfer the fuel to other tanks that a are not adjacent to cargo holds. However, care should be taken t to avoid commingling: paraffinic fuels can be prone to incompatibility when mixed with other stems.

Fuel heating system maintenance: It can be difficult diffi to accurately control the steam heating of fuel storage tanks. Temperature sensors and steam-control valves work wo in a harsh environment and can be vulnerable to falling out of calibration, if not failing entirely. Proper maintenance mainten can help to prevent this.

Accura Accurate record keeping: In the event of a claim or dispute, evidence is essential. A vesse vessel presented with a cargo damage claim will be far bette better placed to successfully defend it if reliable reco records are kept on the temperatures of the fuel stor storage tanks.

16 | JUNE 2020

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

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FUELS & LUBRICANTS

GREEK SHIPOWNER ADOPTS UNIFIED LUBE PROCUREMENT Product tanker owner Eletson Corp has simplified its lubricant procurement processes by switching to an e-commerce purchasing solution

8 Piraeus-based product tanker owner Eletson has adopted Chevron Marine Lubricants’ e-commerce solution for its lubricant procurement

The Piraeus-based company, which owns a fleet of 36 medium- and long-range vessels, has replaced its traditional email-led purchasing procedures with OnePort, which allows customers to manage the order process all in one place, from enquiry to delivery.

Since adopting OnePort, which allows multi-port comparison for price and availability, Eletson has placed all orders for lubricants through the system. According to Eletson support engineer Konstantinos Tzagkournis, the ship owner has been particularly impressed with the easy access OnePort provides to delivery notes and invoices. Managing inventory in different time zones can often result in delays, especially if orders are not received in time. The platform eliminates the need for multiple contact points before an order is finalised.

“Placing orders with OnePort saves time by cutting down on unnecessary emails,” Tzagkournis said. “I can access the platform from different devices and can easily view important transactional information quickly.”

OnePort forms part of a comprehensive package of Cloud Solutions launched by Chevron Marine Lubricants. The system dramatically reduces order management time by eliminating unnecessary work from the process of lubricant procurement. The consolidation of several common supplychain transactions such as product availability inquiries, order confirmations and delivery receipts help customers to quickly access information.

“We recognise the demand for systems that eliminate complexity and relieve pressure from our customers’ already over-stretched resources,” said Steve Gormer, Digital

18 | JUNE 2020

Enablement Manager, Chevron Marine Lubricants. “OnePort is a key element in the suite of digital tools we are providing to help customers optimize their vital vessel equipment, while at the same time creating efficiencies. Our system integrates delivery agents, procurement and supply chain, improving relationship management.”

Chevron Marine Cloud Solutions are also designed to help ship owners and operators optimise critical vessel equipment performance. In addition to the OnePort e-commerce platform, the suite is being developed to deliver recommendations from marine technical specialists based on the analysis of used oil samples - wherever owners have taken advantage of Chevron Marine’s FAST and DOT.FAST analysis services - to provide a full picture of the operating profile of any number of vessels in a fleet.

‘‘

OnePort is a key element in the suite of digital tools we are providing to help customers optimize their vital vessel equipment, while at the same time creating efficiencies.

Our system integrates delivery agents, procurement and supply chain, improving relationship management For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

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FOUR-STROKE ENGINES

DIFFERENT STROKES: ENTER THE COMBUSTION ALTERNATIVES We’re all familiar with diesel cycle and spark ignition engines, but there are a couple of new kids on the block, writes Stevie Knight. Surprisingly, they might fit right in...

The idea of Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) has been kicking around for a while, says Maxime Pochet of ECAM Brussels, adding that in many ways “it’s not that different to other four strokes”.

However, while the diesel cycle squeezes air, then sprays in fuel to trigger ignition and SI varieties set off a mix with a spark, both approaches have their limitations. Spark ignition engines have to stay below knocking conditions, losing out on higher efficiency. Diesel combustion leaves pockets of unmixed fuel and air: soot results from a lack of oxygen to complete the burn and NOx arises from fusing spare oxygen and nitrogen at high temperatures - also an issue for SI engines.

Instead, HCCI mixes the fuel and air in advance, squeezing it so it ignites in one go, rather than spreading along an advancing flame front. The lower temperature, more uniform combustion results in lessened heat loss and potentially substantial fuel savings. Its high thermal reaches over 50% on the test bench that’s more than 40% better than its SI counterpart.

But most importantly for the marine industry, the lack of rich-mixture hot spots results in negligible soot while NOx is limited by the lean mixture, requiring little or no after treatment; catalytic converters mopping up the slightly raised hydrocarbon and CO emissions.

In fact, it’s not that complex a transition. Intriguingly, it’s possible to switch diesel engines over to HCCI operation without a lot of trouble, says Pochet. He explains that creating a unit for his testbed “is just a matter of taking a normal diesel engine, adding a pressure sensor, an injection point, filling in the piston bowl and machining the piston head to provide the required compression ratio while minimising the heat loss exchange area”.

But HCCI can also be utilised for alternative fuels. There’s been work on many fuels, such as ammonia, ethanol and hydrogen, but a front runner is methanol.

Methanol provides an important solution for the marine industry because it’s simple to create, and relatively easy to handle says Professor Martti Larmi, head of Energy Conversion research at Aalto University. It can be produced from biomass or renewable energy sources, but most importantly, it remains liquid at room temperature.

However, despite impressive test bench results, the problem for pure HCCI is its narrow operating window, as it ditches both spark and fuel spray control of the ignition timing.

There are a couple of challenges. “As the whole chamber ignites at once, it has a very rapid, dynamic combustion,” explains Pochet, creating a very large spike in cylinder pressure at higher loads.

On the other hand, optimise combustion for medium to high loads “and at very low loads you end up with possible ignition failure”, says Pochet, adding that “cold start is also a problem”.

As a result, other mechanisms are necessary to support or control ignition. Pochet explains that “you can play with boost pressure, fuel mixes, composition and intake air temperature through exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), which all affects the chemical kinetics of the combustion process”.

20 | JUNE 2020

Certainly, EGR is a useful control lever. At high load operation, the rate of reaction and heat release can be too much for the engine, explains BorgWarner’s Philip Keller. “The EGR brings largely inert gas, mostly nitrogen, but with water vapour and some CO2, back into the combustion chamber where it can slow everything down, lowering pressure and temperature peaks,” he says.

It’s also useful at the other end of the range: “On light load operating points, where you need to reach a certain temperature to get the reaction, the exhaust gases can be a way to help initiate combustion.” Here, the turbocharger comes in useful: a variable geometry turbine can increase the exhaust backpressure, allowing greater retention of the hot residual gas.

This helps mitigate another challenge: while HCCI engines’ lean combustion raises efficiency, they also have a lower maximum load level, necessitating a larger engine size for the same ‘oomph’.

However, Keller also points out that “the efficient, lowtemperature combustion simply results in less energy to drive the air boosting process”.

The problem is that further up the load range “homogeneous low-temperature combustion leaves you boxed into a corner”, explains Chris Kolodziej of the US’ Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). “More fuel drives higher reactivity, which necessitates higher EGR, but the greater the EGR portion, the more difficult it becomes to generate boost pressure from the exhaust-driven turbo”. It’s an uphill struggle; “and as EGR and boost pressure battle it out, you need a more capable air delivery system to meet the challenge”, says Kolodziej.

Happily, there are now a number of ways to augment it, including applying an additional electrically driven compressor

8 HCCI/RCCI combustion gains a lift from technologies such as BorgWarner’s eTurbo which can augment or store exhaust energy

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

FOUR-STROKE ENGINES

RCCI There are other approaches for those that want a broader operating window and higher power density.

Reactivity Controlled Combustion Ignition (RCCI) accomplishes this by introducing another fuel with different autoignition properties at a later point in the cycle. Instead of a completely homogenous mix, this results in a ‘stratified’ charge in the combustion chamber: extending or separating ignition into two - or more - events effectively draws out and dampens down the pressure and temperature spikes.

As it “allows for better control of the ignition process and combustion duration... you can add more fuel, increasing power density”, explains Pochet.

But, isn’t all this quite difficult to achieve? Not necessarily, says Larmi, explaining that RCCI tends to use relatively low injection pressures for the low reactivity main fuel: “There are two principal ways of injecting methanol in a four stroke engine, one is to modify the cylinder head, but the other is simpler, just put it into the upstream port fuel injection channel, that’s the easiest and cheapest method.”

Moreover, he explains “as methanol is quite easy to handle, if you’re going to modify an engine for RCCI methanol combustion there is typically room for integrating the methanol injector in the intake channel”. Further, Larmi believes that it could even be picked up by the manufacturers to create a retrofittable installation kit.

However, for higher loads, even methanol’s relatively low reactivity can generate aggressive combustion rates under homogeneous conditions, prompting a look at other fuels including natural gas and diesel combination. It’s also beneficial to have two fuels of very different reactivity, adds Kolodziej: “The further apart their ignition chemistry, the wider the spectrum for control.”

As a result, the nature of this second fuel may require some thought: “For the high reactivity fuel there are a lot of options, including biodiesel and synthetic fuels, but the more paraffinic types might be better as they generally have a higher cetane number”, says Larmi. “It’s also possible to use DME - although that will need more advanced, possibly more costly injection equipment for this low viscosity fuel.”

There are still challenges. Although this particular RCCI approach is excellent for low NOx and soot, fuel residing near the cooler combustion chamber walls can leave you with hydrocarbon and CO emissions, though again, this is treatable with catalytic converters.

But most importantly, while mid-loads will favour more of the lower reactivity fuel, at the bottom of the load spectrum the balance doesn’t lend itself to stable, robust combustion.

Moreover, at high loads, this well-mixed fraction can too quickly auto-ignite. Therefore, an increasing load forces a reduction in the amount of port injected low-reactivity fuel, with combustion potentially shifting over to as much as 90%

of its high-reactivity counterpart. As Kolodziej explains, “it means going from a kinetically driven RCCI process to using a more responsive direct injection of high-reactivity fuel to initiate ignition”. Unfortunately, this “looks more and more like diesel combustion”, he adds, with a consequent return to the old emission problems.

Therefore, there has been a look into extending kineticallydriven RCCI to higher loads by bringing in Variable Valve Timing (VVT), which, amongst other things, can reduce the effective compression ratio. This allows retaining high fractions of the low-reactivity fuel without aggressive combustion, extending the reach up the load range.

Further, by maximising the portion of the well-mixed low reactivity fuel at high loads, it displaces the quantity of fuel participating in the later direct-injected high reactivity fuel combustion, reducing particulate and NOx output.

POTENTIAL It appears there is, at the moment, a groundswell of interest in the potential for HCCI and RCCI engines.

But, pushing open the operating window has given rise to a very diverse set of part-load approaches which tailor combustion in different ways. This includes everything from two-stage ignition and one fuel, to a single, more extended combustion event from two different fuels or variations with multiple inputs. Pochet adds: “There are also more exotic techniques, for example, temperature stratification through direct injection of water.”

A single-fuel strategy could be extended at low load by transitioning from one mode to another. For example, HCCI could get over some of its cold-start issues by beginning operation in spark or advanced CI mode.

Further, ANL (among others) is also researching Gasoline Compression Ignition (GCI) which overcomes load limitations by well-timed, direct injection of low reactivity fuels to stratify the charge.

But other technologies, currently developing in parallel, may help make this a reality. For example, a hybrid configuration could allow HCCI or RCCI combustion to stay within a restricted operating envelope, letting an energy storage component pick up the other, more problematic loads.

Moreover, the diesel-like RCCI approach can be developed further into direct injection of both high and low-reactivity components: this would be very timely considering the marine industry’s current involvement in dual-fuel strategies.

Taking this further, “direct-injection of both fuels gives you the potential for altering your fuel blend and in-cylinder mixture stratification on the fly”, says Kolodziej. That promises to be very interesting...

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

8 Work is advancing on heavy-duty RCCI strategies

Photo: Argonne National Laboratory

such as BorgWarner’s eBooster, or their eTurbo design where a motor-generator is sandwiched between the turbine and compressor on the turbocharger. Interestingly “when there isn’t enough energy in the exhaust, it can pull energy from the electric system... and it can be used in the other direction so that excess exhaust energy can be fed back and stored.”

So while Kolodziej points out “the energy still has to come from somewhere”, there is some potential recuperation from these devices.

Could it fly (or swim) into the marine industry? Well, it seems that given all this potential for high efficiency and low emissions, some may be seeing a future for HCCI combustion.

Certainly, Pochet concludes that it may find a home in steadyoutput shipboard applications.

JUNE 2020 | 21

FOUR-STROKE ENGINES

YANMAR TESTS RETROFITTING ENGINES WITH TWO-STAGE TCS

Image: Yanmar

Tests have shown retrofitting four-stroke auxiliaries with two-stage turbocharging is practical and effective, offering increased efficiency and output possibilities, according to Yanmar

In a paper published in March, Yoshinori Fukui of its Speciality Machinery Engine Development Department said that the experiments had been prompted by two things: the success of its four-stroke 6EY26W propulsion engine - which was launched in 2014 and has two-stage turbocharging - and the rising electrical power demands caused by a growing amount of equipment installed onboard ships.

In particular, he singled out scrubbers that are being retrofitted as an alternative to using low-sulphur fuel to meet IMO’s 2020 sulphur cap. Their power demands are typically supplied either by installing additional auxiliary generator sets or uprating the existing installation. Instead, “it was thought that the ability to increase output without increasing the amount of space taken up by the engines would be a more desirable option,” his paper notes, which would make better use of the limited space available.

To check whether that could be done, Yanmar set out to test the same combination of two-stage turbocharging and a ‘strong’ Miller cycle (which has an earlier inlet valve close timing than the conventional Miller cycle) that is used on the 6EY26W and apply it to a 6EY18ALW test engine.

Its results were impressive: a 10 % increase in brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) and a reduction in fuel consumption of 5-10g/kWh across the entire load range. Although the paper does not express that as a percentage, a data sheet for the 6EY18ALW engine on Yanmar’s website indicates a typical fuel consumption of around 190g/kWh, which suggests the new set-up provides a saving of up to 5%.

To achieve this required an additional piece of technology, however: a new waste gate valve (WGV), which Yanmar developed as part of the project. It was produced by repurposing a commercially-available valve as a WGV and using electronic control to provide linear valve opening characteristics.

In fact, because there are two turbochargers, two separate

22 | JUNE 2020

8 Yanmar’s 6EY18ALW test engine fitted with two-stage turbocharging

WGVs were fitted and the researchers found contrasting results between the high-pressure WGV (HP-WPV) and lowpressure WGV (LP-WPV). In an engine with single-stage turbocharging, reductions in pressure ratio due to the WGV reduce the combustion pressure, ultimately leading to a deterioration in brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC), their report comments. But “while the LP-WGV demonstrates this characteristic, in the case of the HP-WGV, the BSFC remains largely unaffected by changes in the pressure ratio caused by valve opening or closing,” it records.

In addition, “when the results of the gas exchange work in the HP-WGV are considered, the amount of work tends to increase the greater the reduction in pressure ratio, indicating an improvement in pumping losses in the air intake and exhaust,” which compensates for the reduced combustion pressure. Overall, “the testing demonstrated a reduction in NOx emissions due to the lower pressure ratio.”

It also showed that the combination of two-stage turbocharging and the new HP-WGV increases engine output but does not lead to higher maximum combustion pressure, so “the system keeps the load on pistons, cranks, and other key engine components at a similar level to that of previous engines.”

There is still more work to be done, however. When fitted with two-stage turbocharging, the engines meet IMO’s Tier II NOx limits, but would need an SCR unit to meet Tier III. Future research could include investigating high-pressure SCR systems and low-NOx combustion techniques by adding water to fuel; both techniques “are already in commercial use on two-stroke engines but remain rare on four-strokes,” the paper notes.

So “issues remain,” the paper concludes, but it promises that “Yanmar intends to keep working toward commercialisation of the technology in recognition of its ability to deliver added value to customers.”

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

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FOUR-STROKE ENGINES

GAS-SHIELDED BERGEN ENGINES SPECIFIED FOR BMVI SHIP Each engine will be shielded by a gas protection arrangement that will allow them to remain operational even if the ambient air has been contaminated with explosive gases.

Bergen Diesels are built by Rolls-Royce Power Systems (RRPS) and Rolls-Royce has developed a protection system that will protect the engines when the ship is responding to, for example, a gas tanker accident. Although the four-stroke medium-speed engines are gas-fuelled, if it were to get into the combustion chamber in an uncontrolled way via the intake air, “the engine will become unmanageable,” explained Rolls-Royce project manager Christian Prinz in a statement.

Instead of preventing gas-laden air entering the engine, the system adjusts the amount of gas fuel supplied to the engine to take account of the amount being ingested via the intake air. As a last resort, “if the gas volume is too high, special quick-acting flaps shut off the intake of gas and air and the engine comes to a stop,” the statement explained.

It also quoted Knut Müller, vice president for marine at Rolls-Royce, said that Rolls-Royce is the only manufacturer worldwide able to supply such powerful engines with gas protection and the relevant certification. “We’ve combined the decades of experience ... in the field of medium-speed gas engines ... with our highly-specialised gas protection expertise to create an effective solution,” Mr Müller said.

Supporting the system’s development for this application has been Bergen Engines’ RRPS stablemate MTU Friedrichshafen. The pairing brought together Bergen Engines’ experience of building LNG-fuelled engines with MTU’s involvement since 1986 in developing engines for use in emergency-response missions.

MTU also has a historic connection to the order, which was placed by the German Federal Waterway and Shipping

Image: Rolls-Royce

Two 95m multi-purpose emergency-response vessels under construction at German shipyard Abeking & Rasmussen will each be powered by four Bergen B36:45L6AG engines rated at 3,600kW.

Administration to replace two smaller MTU-powered predecessors, Scharhörn and Mellum, after 46 and 36 years of service respectively.

In a December 2019 statement, the yard highlighted another aspect of the gas shielding arrangement by pointing out that it is important to prevent any leakage from the LNG fuel system during firefighting operations. The yard said that, working with its engine partners, it had further developed the technology so that “the entire LNG and piping systems are double-coated and encased” so that “in the unlikely instance of gas leakage, methane stays trapped in the protective casing.”

They are due to go into service in 2023 and 2024 and a third identical vessel may follow; a decision is due to be made by the end of this year.

8 A Rolls-Royce protection system will shield the Bergen engines on two new emergencyresponse vessels

Type-approval brings new HiMSEN engine to market Hyundai Heavy Industries’ (HHI) latest HiMSEN engine model is now being offered as a propulsion option for small and medium-sized vessels, such as MR tankers.

Its H21M engine is a development from its established H21/32 engine, which dates back to 2002, but this new version is about 30% smaller, with a corresponding weight reduction, and is being marketed as a second-generation ‘Compact Powerful Engine’. Type-approval tests were carried out on a six-cylinder 6H21M engine on 25-26 March for DNV GL and the Korean Register.

DNV GL’s certificate is dated 21 April, which is in line with HHI’s plan at the time the tests were carried out that it should be available that month; The Motorship has not been able to confirm when KR issued its certificate.

24 | JUNE 2020

Rated speed, rpm

720

900

720

900

Mean effective pressure, bar

24.1

24.1

26.3

26.5

Max. firing pressure, bar

165

165

173

173

Rated power, kW/cyl

160

200

175

220

Max power (9 cylinders), kW

1,440

1,800

1,575

1,980

Among the design changes incorporated into the new version are adjustments to key parts such as its fuel injection pump, bearings and pistons so as to make it suitable for its new application. It has also been given a modular assembly concept, which particularly affects its lubricant coolers, filters, and supercharged air coolers.

8 HiMSEN H21M engine option

The engine is available in two speed options - 720rpm or 900rpm - and two firing pressures are available for each speed, giving four power ratings, with a maximum of 220kW/cyl and a maximum engine size of nine cylinders.

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

FOUR-STROKE ENGINES

FOUR-STROKES SHARE DIGITALISATION BENEFIT MAN Energy Solutions is applying digitalisation solutions to improve the reliability and performance of existing solutions, including monitoring four-stroke auxiliary gen sets Per Hansson, head of digital and strategy at the engine builder, said that the term ‘digitalisation’ is often used “to sell more or less specialised software to shipowners” but he believes that its real value is much more than that.

In exclusive extracts from a Q&A transcript for The Motorship, Mr Hansson said that digitalisation “is about making life easier and business more effective and transparent for our customers, translating into bottom-line improvement.” It achieves that by being “based on measurable and manageable performance”, ance , he added.

In his interview, Mr Hansson highlighted ighted its PrimeServ Assist service, which was launched during uring the 2018 SMM exhibition and has been expanded since, e, including trials that started in December 2019 to add smart art glasses. These provide its technical specialists in remote mote operations centres with the customer’s own n view, which supplements the service’s data monitoring. ring.

He also referred to its digital platform orm MAN CEON, which was launched last year (The Motorship, otorship, 5 March 2019) to collect and evaluate operating and sensor data to enable real-time monitoring of its marine, ne, industrial and power plant installations.

A year on, and this platform “now forms orms the backbone of our developing digitalalservice business,” Mr Hansson said, d,

because it “integrates data and information from MAN machinery and its operational environment and applies intelligent analytics to evaluate the current condition [and] predict upcoming issues.”

He said that this marked the start of its exploration of “the potential of new digital solutions for our business” but it is a start that is founded on a number of initiatives taken since 2016, when the company started to build a dedicated digital team consisting of IoT experts, software engineers and data scientists. “They They are closely working together with customer service representati representatives and domain experts to expand our digital value-creatio value-creation chain,” he said, which covers a spectrum from digital d hardware development to cloudbased platforms platfo and front-end applications.

In future, through PrimeServ Assist and MAN CEON “we will w use this data to improve the reliability and performance perform of our existing solutions as well as new, innovative innova service offerings,” he added.

But digitalisation digit is more than a technical consideration, consideratio he said. “It is above all a cultural issue; a mindset.” He explained that thinking digitally “means being able to quickly adapt your own business model to make use of new technologies and developments, develo and the exploding availability of data. dat ”

Caterpillar engines power landmark hybrid tug When it entered service earlier this year, the hydraulic hybrid tug Boğaçay XXXVIII became the first vessel in the world to be completely fitted with Caterpillar Marine’s Advanced Variable Drive (AVD).

It also marks a commercial landmark, bringing to 200 the number Robert Allan designed tugs constructed by the Turkish tug builder and operator.

This vessel is based on the RAmparts 2400SX design and the AVD coordinates a Caterpillar propulsion system, consisting of two Caterpillar 3512 main engines rated at 1,765kW each, a C32 auxiliary engine of 1,081kW and two 2.7m diameter MTA 627 fixed pitch thrusters, linking them together and to the bridge controls.

The AVD system consists of a pair of dual input, continuously variable transmissions, located in the shaftlines between the main engines and the Z-drive propellers. It provides “a true variable speed marine transmission which will provide serious operational savings in fuel and maintenance,” according to Caterpillar Marine’s tug & dredge segment

manager, Michael Braun. It achieves this by optimising engine and system operation independently of propeller speed while supplementing power hydraulically in one of three propulsion modes.

In its transit mode, the main engines are not powered off and are, with propulsion provided from the auxiliary engine via two 435kW hydraulic motors, giving a maximum speed of about 9 knots. In its work mode, propulsion is provided hydro-mechanically, using the most efficient combination of engines and hydraulic systems. This delivers a bollard pull of up to 60 tonnes.

In its boost mode, the auxiliary engine either provides additional hydraulic power to give a bollard pull of up to 70 tonnes or a maximum speed of more than 13 knots.

A further Fi-Fi mode is also available, in which the auxiliary engine is coupled to a firefighting pump while the main engines are dedicated to providing propulsion power.

In an online article posted on its website in May, Sanmar said that the AVD makes it possible for the engines to be smaller than

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

would normally be the case in a tug of this power, which would normally be fitted with more powerful Caterpillar 3516 engines. The reduction has been made possible by using the C32 auxiliary engine both to drives the Fi-Fi pump and be available for propulsion support when required.

The installation’s flexible couplings, resilient mounts and composite shafts have all been supplied by Vulkan. Each main engine is resiliently mounted on its T60 mounts and the auxiliary engine sits on T35 mounts. The gearbox is rigidly mounted on Rotachocks. The engine is connected to the gearbox by Vulkan’s new Vulkardan F 57 shaft while a VULKAN floating composite shaft links the gearbox to the Caterpillar thrusters.

Its auxiliary drive line uses a torsional Vulkardan F 54 coupling from the engine to the gearbox and a Vulkan Metaflex shaft onward to the firefighting pump. Both gearbox and pump are mounted on Rotochocks, an arrangement that Vulkan reports reduced installation and alignment time, resulting in project cost savings.

JUNE 2020 | 25

FOUR-STROKE ENGINES

REMOTE TECHNICAL TRAINING TRIALS AT PRIMESERV ACADEMY While the disruption to international travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic since February 2020 has affected many areas of crewing and ship operation, it has also led to an acceleration in the delivery of online products and services.

MAN Energy Solutions’ PrimeServ Academy has recently launched a series of online e-learning training courses for customers accessible in their eAcademy covering several topics like engine fluids and SCR technology. Of course, these elearning trainings are theoretical only.

But until now the need for direct contact between tutors and engineers, and the requirement for shared access to machinery during technical training courses, has meant that hands-on technical training courses have not been suitable for remote delivery.

“We wanted to deliver technical training courses remotely that offer students the same quality of education that they would receive here in Augsburg,” said Dr Holger Gehring, Senior Manager of PrimeServ Academy, Augsburg.

While real-time video communication between sites halfway around the world is well established, there has not been any substitute for hands-on demonstrations for practical elements of courses. The challenge was ensuring engineers were looking at the same part of a new TCT turbocharger unit, or a SaCoSone engine control system, Gehring noted.

A COMMON PERSPECTIVE One of the solutions to the problem of perspective is already being offered by PrimeServ. By using an augmented reality (AR) headset or Hololens, students can “see” what the lecturer is pointing at, or the lecturer can “see” what the student is pointing at. The streaming option can also be accessed via a smartphone or tablet to maximise the flexibility of the system.

This PrimeServ Eye Tech has already been integrated into MAN ES’ PrimeServ solutions. MAN has experience collaborating with the product’s developer and has been developing virtual reality solutions since 2018.

HANDS-ON APPROACH The innovative aspect of the solution is to combine the PrimeServ Eye Tech with practical elements of technical training covering components.

Combining the PrimeServ Eye Tech with practical training for transportable units, or equipment available at a customer’s site, is relatively straightforward. The crew members simply need to be allocated a secluded area of a workshop with space to move around a unit, and for projection screens and a webcam to be set up. This will allow images and instruction from an identical unit in Augsburg to be displayed on screen remotely.

“Combining a projection screen and primary webcam with the PrimeServ Eye Tech allows us to show close up detail or the back side of the equipment,” Gehring said, while the small size of the group would be similar to a physical training course at the academy. Students would be able to interact naturally with the lecturers.

26 | JUNE 2020

Image courtesy of MAN ES

MAN Energy Solutions’ PrimeServ Academy in Augsburg is piloting remote technical training in June and July, explains Dr Holger Gehring of PrimeServ Academy, Augsburg

However, the impracticability of moving other units into a demonstration space forced Dr Gehring’s colleagues to develop a new solution.

“Turning an engine room into a quiet space is impractical, and conducting training sessions aboard a vessel remotely is too challenging. The background noise from gensets is an issue when we deliver training in person.”

The solution was the development of a series of demonstration units for specific training modules that can be shipped around the world to allow crew members to receive a training programme as if they were attending a PrimeServ Academy.

One of the first such demonstration units to be developed is a SaCoSone simulator. The simulator is being is used for engine automation training.

8 Remote technical training at PrimeServ Academy in Augsburg in May 2020. Inset: MAN Energy Solutions began trialling its AR solution, PrimeServ EyeTech, in 2019

A NEW REMOTE APPROACH The remote approach builds on the in-house remote training that has already been successfully delivered to service engineers who could not reach a PrimeServ Academy during the coronavirus lockdown.

“We needed to deliver training as part of our training account contract, and in some cases training was required for commissioning activity,” Gehring noted.

The experience showed that real-time online delivery worked well for both theoretical and practical elements, and that classes of between 8-10 participants could be managed with direct access to the lecturer hosted on a web meeting application, such as MS Teams.

TRIALS IN JUNE The remote training solution is being introduced in June, when a first trial is being conducted with Korean PrimeServ engineers receiving training on maintenance of the new TCT turbocharger. A trial with a European customer receiving a remote SaCoSone training is set to follow in July.

Up to one-third of PrimeServ Academy’s modules may eventually be suitable for conversion to remote learning, he concluded.

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

BATTERY HYBRIDISATION

BATTERY SUPPLIER LOOKS TO FUTURE Didier Jouffroy, the Marine System Technical Advisor at battery supplier Saft, discusses the market and advances in technology in an interview with The Motorship While battery maker Saft has been in existence for over a century, its experience of developing Li-ion solutions for demanding safety-critical operations is a little newer, dating back to the 1990s. Back then, the new frontier for battery development was the spaceflight and satellite sector, where Saft has an established position. The company now has an extensive product portfolio, with a particular focus on the production of batteries for every form of transport.

“We called on the expertise gathered in over 20 years of experience in delivering safe and reliable Li-ion solutions in the exacting spaceflight and satellite sector to create our marine modules.” Jouffroy said.

Saft’s Seanergy® modules are a fully integrated solution designed specifically for civil marine propulsion installations, based on Saft’s established Li-ion Super-Iron Phosphate (SLFP) battery technology. The SLFP is proven with a strong record of safety, performance and reliability.

“The key advantages of the technology are its increased safety, its light weight and compact size, high efficiency, long calendar and cycling life, fast-charging capability and high power output,” Jouffroy said.

Saft established its marine division in 2014. In that year, it supplied Seanergy modules to Ballerina, an electric ferry designed to operate in Stockholm harbour. Similar electric ferries in the River Garonne at Bordeaux followed, and a contract for the third hybrid ferry being built for the Scottish operator Calmac by Ferguson Shipyard.

In 2015 the company’s Seanergy® range of Li-ion SuperIron Phosphate (SLFP) battery modules received type approval from Bureau Veritas. The approval for the modules, which had been developed for the requirements of civil marine propulsion applications, opened the door to quoting for marine applications.

“Safety is at the heart of all Saft’s marine activities. This certification was important to give our customers confidence that the Seanergy® modules comply with best practice,” said Jouffroy.

Following this BV approval Saft has supplied battery banks for a number of innovative ships, including a research vessel in Norway. A recent high-profile contract for UK-based readers was the supply of batteries for the research ship Sir David Attenborough, which is being built at Cammell Laird Shipyard.

In order to meet the polar research vessel’s battery system specifications, Saft developed a customised battery solution.

This battery system is based on Saft’s proven Seanergy® 48P high-power module, with higher voltage, power capability and cooling efficiency to accommodate the unique needs of the vessel.

Together, the battery systems will provide 1,450 kWh of capacity with a maximum voltage of 1,011 V and will be assembled into the vessel’s control and automation system.

The power provided by the cutting-edge technology will assist the vessel with peak power, especially within dynamic positioning mode.

With battery systems moving into higher and higher

28 | JUNE 2020

voltages, Jouffroy is hesitant about the use of voltages above 1000 volts DC. “Whilst the higher voltages from some of our competitors allow smaller wiring and more effective motors we are concerned about the safety aspects of using any voltage above 1000 volts.”

Looking ahead, Jouffroy noted that the accelerating use of batteries in larger vessels would inevitably lead customers to focus on the reliability of battery systems.

Saft has a particular advantage over other battery system suppliers as it is an ‘end to end’ manufacturer of cells, modules and systems. “This complete overview enables Saft to take responsibility for the total quality control of every aspect of design, development, testing and delivery of the complete marine battery solution.”

This holistic perspective could also be seen in the company’s R&D work. “Currently, Saft is working on nextgeneration active materials for high-performance cathodes and lithium-alloy anodes”, said Jouffroy. “The goal with this undertaking is to elevate performance, safety and lifetime, all the while lowering costs.”

Turning to digitalisation, Jouffroy noted Saft’s strong position as a supplier in other markets means the increasing demands for data in the marine market come as no surprise.

The expansion of the IoT and interconnectivity enables more complex, data-heavy applications, including intricate battery systems.

“Saft’s e-Supervision tool is the answer to delivering dataheavy remote battery diagnostics.” says Jouffroy. “It provides customers with crucial data in real time from a remote location. The tool enables the battery system owners to secure alerts and investigate happenings without having to be in the presence of the system.”

However, no one company can have all the answers given the speed with which markets are changing. Saft has entered into groundbreaking collaborations between Rolls-Royce, BAS and NERC, for example, to conduct research into science and technology. “With our environment and digital lifestyles in constant transformation, agility and adaptability are the key to protecting our precious environment and resources.”

8 Saft supplied two banks of batteries, each rated at 2,500kW/500kWh, to Sir David Attenborough, which is being built at Cammell Laird’s Birkenhead yard.

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

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BATTERY HYBRIDISATION

OUT ON THE PULL: MAKING WIND ASSISTANCE WORK

Image: Airseas

Wind power is worth attention: theoretical ‘castles in the air’ are rapidly gaining foundations, writes Stevie Knight

Wind Assisted Propulsion - WASP - “is not an efficiency measure, it’s a propulsion provider”, underlines Gavin Allwright of the International Windship Association. Sadly, it’s regularly left out of carbon discussions despite wind assistance breaking into the big tonnage: last winter’s WASP installation onboard the 163,000gt New Vitality tanker is now being followed by an even larger VLCC order.

While New Vitality’s results are as yet unconfirmed, validated WASP test results have been climbing. Maersk Pelican’s Norsepower installation returned an average, yearlong fuel saving of 8.2%: an important milestone as though others may have returned higher values during peak performance or on selected routes, Pelican is a fairly ordinary long-range tanker - and that class-validated ‘average’ matters.

However, WASP technology comes in many different flavours. Airbus’ spin-off development, Seawing is a lightweight, textile parafoil designed to fly at 150m “where you get above most of the gusts and turbulence to constant and powerful winds”, says Luc Reinhard of Airseas. Despite this, it’s designed to automatically unfurl and lift in a minimal 8kn breeze.

The pull is transferred to a winch on the foredeck, the line incorporating a data cable which runs to the kite’s brain.

Hanging just below the parafoil, this control pod directs the wing into a dynamic figure-of-eight flying pattern, increasing traction with speed.

The Seawing has already started picking up orders, doubtless helped by the fairly simple demand of space on

30 | JUNE 2020

8 The Airseas parafoil line incorporates a data cable which runs to a control pod which directs the wing into a dynamic figure-of-eight flying pattern

the foredeck and a control link to the bridge. As a result, K-Line is fitting it to a capesize bulk carrier - significantly, there’s an option for 50 more so it may well fly in more ways than one.

SAILS There’s now a whole range of rigid and hybrid sails including models with single and even double flaps, but few are realised onboard larger commercial vessels.

Still, Eco Marine Power’s (patented) EnergySail is working on a broad remit: not only can it make use of a wide, 270deg arc of wind direction but it’s opening up its operating window by doubling up as a platform for other technologies. While the base version has been tested in high winds the company is now working on a slightly more rugged model that will hold an array of photovoltaic panels. By utilising these and other areas, it’s possible to harvest 1MW of solar power per ship: additional energy storage could allow emission-free running in port.

Further, there are plans for “wind-in-wind” says EMP CEO Greg Atkinson: incorporating small turbines could deliver a useful feed to the onboard grid alongside the push to the hull.

TOWERS Towers, on the other hand, modify the low pressure area created by the wind’s travel path around a cylinder, amplifying the Magnus effect. However, they achieve this in rather different ways.

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

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BATTERY HYBRIDISATION

Image: Norsepower

The Ventifoil has an elliptical cross-section, adding a flap and ventilator explains eConowind’s Guus Van der Bles. This accelerates the airspeed at the boundary layer and mitigates turbulence: as a result, the low pressure area clings to a broader section, multiplying the generated thrust. It’s effective in incoming wind-angles over 30degs from the bow with maximum thrust in beam winds: given 17m/s wind speeds, four 10m VentiFoils should yield a reduction of up to 420kW of engine power, maintaining a ship speed of 11 kn.

So, what does it take to integrate them? “It’s not that difficult,” says Van der Bles: the first plug-n-play, folding containerised eConowind-unit onboard Lady Christina was fitted to the deck by common twistlocks: a standard electrical connection fed the 7.5kW ventilators.

However, he adds that ‘bigger is better’: the returns significantly stepped up for the two free-standing 10m VentiFoils on Van Dam Shipping’s bulker MV Ankie. Early indications are that 6m extensions (bringing them up to 16m) will provide about the same thrust as four 10m containerised versions. The yield from the next order, two 20m freestanding Ventifoils, should be interesting - but even here heavy deck reinforcement is unlikely to be necessary “although we check for class”, says Van der Bles. It also opens up the potential for swapping units between vessels, depending on route.

This all helps the business case: “You can talk about thrust force per metre, but thrust force for invested Euro is most important,” he remarks.

8 An air pressure diagram shows how Ventifoil technology accelerates the airspeed at the boundary layer causing the low pressure area to cling to a broader section

32 | JUNE 2020

Graphic: eConowind

FLETTNERS Instead of sucking, Flettners spin to accelerate the airflow on one side while decelerating it on the other, the pressure difference adding to the pull: rotation is generally adapted to wind speed through a variable electric drive - although some, like ThiiiNKsail’s model, also incorporate a wing flap.

This results in a somewhat bigger demand than ventilated towers, Norsepower’s largest 35m-by-5m diameter model draws on average 40kW and up to 143kW, though that’s set against a larger contribution to the total energy budget.

While the output per metre is just a little higher than other towers, Flettners can also make use of over 300deg wind angles and even a 30m/s storm. Norsepower’s 24m tall, 4m diameter Rotor Sail can produce 2,000kW propulsion equivalent from a true wind speed of 22m/s (though tower size, vessel speed, energy conversion and other parameters affect comparison).

Along with tow, rotor spin lends a fluctuating gyroscopic or precession component to the forces acting on the foundations points out Rogier Eggers of MARIN. Accordingly, they’re fairly meaty, adding between 30% and 40% to the flettners’ 20 to 59 tonne weight although these are still fairly straightforward retrofits: an adaptor is welded on during ordinary docking.

Accordingly, the foundations are fairly meaty, adding between 30% and 40% to the Flettners’ 20 to 59 tonne weight although they’re still fairly straightforward retrofits: an adaptor is welded on during ordinary docking.

Interestingly, a study for a DAMEN BTa 19500 tanker carrier carried out by Nico van der Kolk of Blue Wasp noted that positioning three Flettners along the side of the vessel allowed integrating the base with the vessel frame. This could facilitate cargo operations (at least from one side) although different headings made for asymmetric WASP effects.

While the study generally fell in line with eConowind’s discovery that fewer, larger rotors are more effective than smaller multiples, Van der Kolk’s colleague Giovanni Bordogna adds that spacing does matter: according to his modelling, WASP installations can interfere with each other if they’re too close.

However, powered towers do have one advantage over sails: you can hit the ‘off’ switch if things get rough. While it won’t remove all the drag, it’ll rapidly take the edge off the Magnus effect.

Which brings us to automation. Each WASP unit is designed to catch the wind so the forces acting on it total far more than weight alone.

Deployment, recovery and optimisation has to take place with little or no human interaction, but a ‘fold-down’ strategy for critical conditions also means the kit has to be capable of automatic, seamless, and timely retraction, which in turn demands a robust monitoring and control system. That could skyrocket costs but it’s possible to get clever: EMP, for example, bases its system on a reliable, class-approved data logger.

Interestingly, the Seawing mitigates some of these concerns as it can move “from a dynamic power pattern to a

8 Norsepower’s Rotor Sail installation onboard Maersk Pelican has returned an LR validated fuel saving of 8.2%

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

BATTERY HYBRIDISATION holding position above the ship in just a few seconds,” explains Reinhard.

Once there, it exerts almost no pull, which allows the kite’s AI to pause and wait for developments, minimising launch and recovery operations.

NEWBUILDS As to be expected, newbuilds offer greater WASP optimisation potential than retrofits, whether just by avoiding wind-blocking structures, saving weight on the foundations or going for a whole redesign incorporating a streamlined hull, fuel cells, batteries and other innovations. Interestingly, the transit pace for both EMP’s 240m Eco Ship and the 220m Conoship 33000 ZE bulker designs sits between 10 and 13 knots as slower speeds allow for greater wind assistance, and both predict average savings of over 40%. However, Van der Bles adds that with favourable Bft 5 conditions on a North Atlantic route, “it should be possible to meet the ship’s entire propulsion requirement for an 11kn speed” with power to spare.

But despite the usually fairly simple nature of the retrofits, it’s not straightforward.

Given 40% wind assistance “the manoeuvring and sea-keeping characteristics of the ship itself could change” says Eggers.

If the propeller isn’t providing much thrust “there is little flow over the rudder”, reducing the ship’s ability to counter the force of waves he explains: it could be enough to push the vessel off course and potentially increasing roll, although he adds that some WASP systems actually confer a roll-dampening effect.

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Photo: eConowind

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8 The Ventifoils on MV Ankie will be extended to 16m, two potentially yielding more than four 10m containerised versions

Still, the forces arising from the most productive crosswind conditions may result “in the vessel having to steer into the wind, reducing the power available”, says Philip Holt of MAN ES. Even if the ship doesn’t change heading, Van der Kolk says the benefits of WASP technology have to be considered against other effects. He adds the main issue is the aerodynamic side force will likely be large enough to create considerable heel and leeway angle, resulting in potentially significantly raised hydrodynamic resistance. Further, Eggers points out the rudders could also become overloaded as they attempt to correct the balance.

Generally, WASP-optimising design means “main particulars and section shapes will need a careful look” he explains, adding that adapting appendages could make a difference. While in principle the solution is to move the weight down or widen certain sections of the vessel, in reality “this may be a challenge”, he says.

However, he points out there are easier, operational strategies that will mitigate course keeping issues such as “temporarily sailing at a higher speed to increase flow over the rudder or by doing the opposite: reducing speed to shorten the encounter period of the waves”. He also adds that given spare capacity, steady heel “could be compensated by asymmetric ballasting”.

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BATTERY HYBRIDISATION

WIND ABOVE: WHAT GOES ON BELOW? Could wind’s promised efficiency impact other systems? Stevie Knight asks the questions...

8 Maersk Pelican’s engines absorbed the variable loads from the Flettner tow effect

Currently, “Flettner rotors or kites are rather easy to integrate” says Philip Holt of MAN ES. That’s partly because the effective power provided by these systems has historically been quite low: “We have heard of fuel saving of around 3.5% to 5% and up to 10% in special cases on merchant vessels”, he explains. That puts it in the same ballpark “as sailing in small waves with a tail wind.... for the same rpm setting, the propeller simply requires a lower amount of torque”.

However, if the whispers of a near-future 20% and potential 40% vessel efficiency are to be believed, there are further considerations.

“As these mechanical sails push the ship forward through the hull, the amount of additional energy introduced could vary a lot, from zero to half the installed power,” says Tuomas Riski of Norsepower, adding that the onboard plant needs to be flexible enough to compensate for these reduced loads.

However, given fairly steady conditions, this still falls within the efficiency range for long-haul ships’ two-stroke engines.

“If you’re operating on 50% engine load with the wind propulsion aid, and 90% without it, the specific fuel oil consumption (SFOC) will only deviate by a few grams,” says Holt, adding that MAN’s slow speed, two-stroke models tend to be efficient down to 10% MCR. It’s plausible that these engines’ load response might be a little slow, but as Van der Kolk goes on to explain, while most studies look at retaining a fixed speed, in fact there is a wider operating envelope as in reality some wind variation will simply be taken up by a greater ship speed. MARIN’s Rogier Eggers adds that even if a conventional, two-stroke propulsion plant isn’t fully adjusted for WASP, “the savings are likely to still be significant, even if they could be higher”.

Riski remarks that experience bears this out: Maersk Pelican’s impressive 8.2%, savings resulted from installing a pair of large, 30m Rotor Sails without paying the engines any special attention. The 61,000gt tanker “has faced variable wind conditions on continuous basis, but” he stresses “it has not had any challenges in adapting to fluctuating loads”.

34 | JUNE 2020

However, a greater degree of wind assistance may change the picture: “We will have to see what is really possible with adjusting two-stroke propulsion,” says Eggers, though Holt adds that while “it’s mostly speculative”, during high levels of wind assistance, the engine might benefit from alternative optimisation parameters - although “firm consideration” is still over the horizon, “actual numbers will be required to perform a study of the potential”.

Despite this, Holt underlines that even given sizeable WASP capacity, MAN ES “doesn’t recommend reducing the main engine power based on an installation of some sort of wind assistance... as it cannot be ensured to operate in heavy weather”.

Still, WASP installation could give rise to alternative power configurations. Installing a shaft-generator PTO along with the WASP on deck “could be beneficial” says Holt, as the main engine may be used to supply the electrical power rather than the auxiliaries. It would make for an interesting set up, says Sami Kanerva, ABB Marine and Ports: the gensets could take a break as the two-stroke engine picks up the load during periods of greater wind assistance.

NOT ONLY FOR THE BIG BOYS Ship type does play a part says Eggers: higher speed results in “the effective wind direction above deck being mostly from ahead”, so don’t expect long-haul containerships to line up for WASP installation, even if they could arrange it without sacrificing capacity. However, more modest general cargo vessels and coasters “are interesting, because their lower speed translates to a more favourable wind angle”, he remarks.

And in this arena, four-stroke engines reach a broader audience.

As Kanerva explains “in contrast to the larger oceangoing cargo ships, diesel-electric propulsion is typically applied to smaller vessels with a wider operating profile”, given this, it is “usually more effective to have multiple medium-speed engines”. This, of course, applies doubly to those looking at low-carbon or coastal emission-mitigation strategies.

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

BATTERY HYBRIDISATION “Wind assist is like another form of hybrid - with its own particular requirements... so you need to tie together and balance the various power inputs”, says MARIN’s Alex Grasman. He underlines, this demands high level power management, not just engine control. But for first movers, it’s a good idea to be able to track what’s really going on so Viking Grace has installed ABB’s Octopus system which can validate the collected data and a machine learning module which can carve up the various effects into their components: drag, wind, wave resistance as well as the push from the WASP. The recent Flettner trial on Viking Grace uncovered a picture that underlines the subtleties: for example, threading through an archipelago or long fairway “where a vessel needs to move precisely but the wind can be inconsistent, it’s actually difficult for either Flettners or even the power plant to run that optimally”, says Kanerva. However, the picture changes if there’s a longer sea leg.

He remarks: “When we look into ro-ro and merchant vessels with steadier wind conditions and longer ocean passages where they can slightly optimise their heading, then it is really very viable as propulsion support.”

Eggers also believes that some vessels could gain an advantage, he cites ro-ro as presenting “little conflict” with loading or unloading patterns: further, ferries and cruise vessels “may operate in specific areas with favourable winds”.

Moreover, as Kanerva remarks, a four-stroke plant will likely be better able to follow the load curve, which may result in a closer match with the desired speed. Eggers comments that, “even without changing schedules and routes, large savings could be achieved, although it will still not be at its theoretical maximum”. He also points out that for cruise and longer-distance ferries especially “there is the additional incentive of good PR”.

“Of course you want to be confident in selecting the appropriate route and speed distribution” for each voyage, he adds: if the engines have limited response to the load curve, “speed variation may be wider over the duration of an individual trip”.

ROUTES This brings us to route choice. Usefully, the rapid advance of artificial intelligence means that voyage optimisation services release WASP-installed vessels from traditional 19thC trades, enabling savings on a wide range of less windy routes.

It also allows realistic choices. For example, NAPA’s software uses AI to tailor the output for forecasted weather patterns, specific vessels and type of assistance, yielding a balance between time and fuel saving options.

However, while suitable routes can offer general consistency, that’s spread around a probability curve. So, while the wind conditions don’t usually change that fast, “fast changes can occur”, remarks Riski.

8 EMP’s Aquarius Eco Ship design “would most likely incorporate an onboard DC grid to allow a range of power sources to be plugged in”

It will take careful handling: inadequate power management could result in “generators cutting in and out several times an hour, eating away at the savings” says Kanerva.

Even with a forgiving operational envelope, a number of four-stroke applications might usefully entrain an energy storage system. Kanerva explains that this would be for “strategic loading, not peak shaving”: the battery potentially supporting the propulsion for longer periods, “maybe even up to half an hour”, he adds.

8 Voyage optimisation will be part of the deal for any wind assisted propulsion

ONBOARD GRID This yields a synergy with other, potentially interesting power sources. As Riski points out, “whether that’s LNG-electric, hydrogen-electric or some other electric hybrid, everything gets routed through the motor”. He adds that typically, this leads to “a more responsive power plant”, making the integration of WASP systems somewhat easier.

Atkinson explains EMP’s Aquarius Eco Ship design “would most likely incorporate an onboard DC electrical grid and this would allow a range of power sources to plugged in” he says, from batteries and photovoltaics to fuel cells.

Importantly, the idea avoids penalising first movers. He adds: “As these technologies develop further, the existing equipment on the ship could be upgraded or even perhaps replaced.”

In fact, the sail rests on the company’s Aquarius MRE (Marine Renewable Energy) base, a control solution that’s developed to be adaptable, taking on new forms of energy as they reach fruition.

One more point to add from Holt: there might be a challenge in the resistance created by the WASP during adverse weathers and designers will have to take this into account when designing for compliance with the rule on the minimum propulsion power which is currently being set.

ECONOMICS However, when it comes to the business case, the cargo industry simply has the “wrong model” concludes Gavin Allwright. He points out there’s still a disconnect between who pays for the investment and who gains, but adds the system could do with a complete overhaul. “If you are tweaking the existing paradigm you’ll get significant gains, but what’s really needed is a move from a time-charter to a slot-charter model with a fuel or carbon-based clause,” he explains. “If you are prioritizing decarbonisation, it could benefit the environment and bottom line.”

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

JUNE 2020 | 35

FOUR-STROKE ENGINES

BY THE NUMBERS: DATA OFFERS OPERATIONAL INSIGHTS Data led solutions, such as Hempel’s SHAPE, have a vital role to play in helping shipowners meet targets, notes Andreas Glud, Group Segment Manager, Dry Dock, Hempel A/S To say that data matters when looking at operational efficiency is an understatement. Against the backdrop of uncertainty, adopting solutions that allow data-driven decisions to be taken is vital. But why has this become more important now than ever before?

One of the most significant environmental regulations affecting the maritime industry came into force on the 1 January 2020. The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 0.5 per cent global sulphur cap changed everything. Simultaneously the IMO is pushing towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2050, compared to a 2008 baseline.

That’s not all. The IMO has sped up the phase three requirements of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and moved them forward from 2025 to 2022. This means that several new build ship types - including gas carriers, general cargo ships and LNG carriers - will need to become significantly more energy efficient.

In addition, shipping companies are also positively working towards adopting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular goal number 13 – Climate Action: To take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

The IMO and other international bodies are continuously working towards integrating climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.

Sustainability is key to our industry evolving for the better.

And, by having accurate data to base your decisions on, businesses can unlock opportunities to maximise fuel efficiency. Hull performance monitoring and analysis is one solution on offer to shipowners and operators. This enables continuous efficiency improvements by reducing fuel consumption and associated CO2 emissions.

USING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS Advanced hull coatings have long been applied to commercial vessels to reduce the impact of marine fouling and corrosion, as well as increasing efficiency. Biofouling remains a significant cause of operational losses for shipowners, operators and managers. Frictional resistance caused by fouling correlates directly with increased drag, reduced hydrodynamic performance and, in turn, increased fuel consumption. At its worst, fouling typically increases the engine power needed by close to 20 per cent over five years. The result is more environmental emissions and a significant upswing in costs.

But in order to understand a vessel’s performance - and for a hull coating to deliver tangible returns - here is where measuring operating results is key. Hempel, the worldwide coatings manufacturer, launched a hull performance system - SHAPE (Systems for Hull and Propeller Efficiency) to enable shipowners and operators to compare their hull solutions with simple and transparent data.

intelligence. Shipowners and operators can now make informed, sustainable and competitive decisions to put their business operations in the best position.

SHAPE is a structured process which can be applied to every vessel regardless of the age, size or operating pattern.

As a first step, individual speed power reference curves are established based on the vessel’s operating patterns and its location. Once established, the relevant data is collected and reviewed to clean and retain key information. This means removing any data from extreme operating conditions and accounting for any environmental factors. This allows Hempel’s analysts to calculate the vessel’s precise speed loss and to establish four KPIs. The KPIs relate to all stages of the vessel’s operational life, its dry-docking performance, inservice performance, the maintenance triggers and the maintenance effects on vessel speed. The resulting detailed data can then be used to make changes that deliver fuel efficiency, tailored to each vessel’s specific needs. Using this methodology those savings can be refined and delivered year-on-year Our industry is changing for the better with more focus on environmental and sustainable initiatives. By being able to effectively manage operational performance through the use of hard data, shipowners and operators can make intelligent decisions to play their part in this. Reducing fuel consumption by maximising a fleet’s productivity and efficiency is one part of the puzzle to a better future.

8 Andreas Glud, Group Segment Manager, Dry Dock at Hempel stressed the importance of measuring results

8 SHAPE combines elements of hull and propeller efficiency optimisation, delivering expert advice and solutions to ship operators

STEP BY STEP SHAPE uses in-service performance KPIs to track long-term trends that generate important data for fact-based decisions.

This information offers a whole new level of fuel-efficiency

36 | JUNE 2020

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

100

YEARS

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MS 100 CONTAINERSHIP FOCUS

HOW BOXES WRAPPED UP GLOBAL TRADE

38 | JUNE 2020

two weeks later by Madrid Maersk, rated at 20,568TEU, a figure that has been surpassed several times in the three years since.

At this rate of growth, the Suez Canal’s capacity comes into view as the next constraint. If that were breached, a Malaccamax design of around 30,000TEU could follow, but ports might baulk at investing in suitable infrastructure.

Container ship speed and efficiency have been intertwined over the years, with high speeds being beneficial because of their high cargo values. But the years following the 2008 world economic crisis ended that upward curve, with many young and fast container ships being laid up for long periods while older ones went for scrap.

De-rated engines and slow steaming became the norm for existing ships and once newbuildings were specified for lower service speeds, the days of fast box ships was over.

MSC’s online data sheet for MSC Gülsün, for example, lists its speed as “varies; capable of 21kts”; in 2010, that top speed would have been classed as ‘slow steaming’.

These lower speeds, however, play their part in making larger ships possible; if container ship speeds had not fallen, finding a suitable engine for today’s huge ships would be difficult. MSC Gülsün, for example, is powered by an MAN B&W 11G95ME-C9.5 engine, which has a top rating of 75,570kW, although it operates at 66,650kW in this installation, while HMM Algeciras is propelled by a MAN B&W G95ME-C10.5 engine.

Future containership evolution, then, will depend on a balance between size and speed, with an eye on emissions and efficiency. Perhaps we have now reached the largest practical size, but engine designers and naval architects have delighted in disproving predictions in the past.

8 Triton is the largest ship to have passed through the enlarged Panama Canal locks

8 Malcom McClean understood the real purpose of shipping

Credit: Wikimedia

Some of the popular mythology is incorrect: McClean did not invent the concept of containerised shipping and it was not an instantaneous ‘eureka’ revelation. But what Malcom McLean did was to introduce standardisation, make it work on a grand scale and realise that shipping’s underlying priority was to move cargo. In the 1930s, when he was running a trucking company, shipping was very inefficient at that: ships could spend as long in port loading and unloading as they spent at sea.

In 1937 he spent nearly a whole day sitting in his truck’s cab in the port in Hoboken, New Jersey, as he waited to deliver some cotton bales. He later told the magazine American Shipper that “it struck me that I was looking at a lot of wasted time and money. ... The thought occurred to me ... that it would be easier to lift my trailer up and, without any of its contents being touched, put it on the ship.”

But it was not until 1955 that he and an engineer, Keith Tantlinger, developed the container that we know today, with its corrugated sides and twistlock. Although McLean patented it, Tantlinger persuaded him to make the design freely available, helping to ensure its adoption.

He was not the only one exploring the potential of containerising cargo. In November 1955 - independently of his activities - the first purpose-built container vessel, Clifford J. Rodgers, carried 600 containers between North Vancouver and Alaska for transhipment to rail. It was on 26 April the following year that McClean put 58 of his containers onto a converted tanker, Ideal X, which took them from Newark, New Jersey, to Houston in Texas, marking the start of the first container shipping company.

From such humble beginnings, the vessels and trade have evolved. The largest container ships in 2019, the MSC Gülsün class, were rated at 23,756TEU but have since been surpassed by the 24,000TEU HMM Algeciras class. These container ships embody the same factors that influenced McLean: size, speed and efficiency. Their development over the past 64 years has been underpinned by world trade, making them equally vulnerable to its variations. The current coronavirus pandemic has also left its mark on both production and demand, leading to many ‘blank’ sailings in container operators’ schedules.

Containership size has grown in distinct steps, with the Panama Canal as a limiter. Panamax box ships arrived in the mid-1980s, carrying around 4,000TEU, and little changed for about a decade until post-Panamax ships of around 6,600TEU appeared, relying on growing world trade to make them economical.

When the canal’s larger locks opened in 2016, a new reference benchmark was set and the largest ship so far through the canal is Costamare’s 14,424TEU Triton, in service with Evergreen on its Far East-US East Coast service, which made its first transit in May 2019.

Away from the canal, MOL became the first operator to put a 20,000+TEU vessel into service, in March 2017, with the delivery of its 20,150TEU MOL Triumph. It was trumped just

Credit: Panama Canal Authority

Any history of containerisation should start with Malcom McClean. By inventing the container, he started a global business that has transformed the way we live

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MS 100 CONTAINERSHIP FOCUS

MAN R&D CHIEF PREPARES FOR MULTI-FUEL FUTURE

Image courtesy of MAN Energy Solutions

Brian Østergaard Sørensen, Vice President, Head of R&D 2-Stroke Business, at MAN Energy Solutions, looks forward and discusses the challenges of choosing between research priorities

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

Although the introduction of electronic controlled engines into the two-speed portfolio occurred relatively recently, it has been the foundation of many of the recent developments that have occurred in the industry, such as emissions control, advanced engine control and monitoring solutions and the new generations of gas-fuelled engines.

Taking a wider view, electronic controlled engines also laid the foundations for the introduction of digitalisation solutions into the marine propulsion market. [The development of the ME-concept engine by MAN Diesel engineers in the early 2000s - as well as the launch of the 32/44CR all electronic four-stroke - represented advances in electronically controlled fuel injection].

Looking ahead, digitalisation is a rapidly developing area.

It is a common thread running through all aspects of our business - it touches everything from how we sell spare parts to how we utilise data within R&D. It is inevitable that it will increase - and I expect it to alter our business model in the future, whether that is through subscriptions for higher value services, condition based monitoring or other solutions.

Q A

As a master mariner who subsequently qualified in mechanical engineering, how do you see the future role of the internal combustion engine? Will it remain the prime mover for marine transportation in the future?

Two-stroke engines offer unchallenged efficiency, and we expect to achieve further advances in the coming years using combined cycle technologies (such as Organic Rankine Cycle solutions), for example. I believe that two-

Q A

40 | JUNE 2020

8 MAN Energy Solutions’ plans to launch its ME-GA low-pressure engine platform

by Q1 2022 remain on track

stroke engine technology will remain the prime mover of deep-sea shipping. However, the range of fuels will change in the future as we leave a monofuel world - LNG, methanol and perhaps ammonia might play a larger role in the fuel mix.

The fuels being consumed may also vary according to the route and operating profile, which will increase demand for fuel flexibility among ship operators.

Without a doubt, we expect to see an evolution in the integration of power systems aboard vessels. Staying abreast of developments in battery and fuel cell technology, for example, is paramount to the success of MAN as a company.

You mention combined cycle technologies as an interesting area for research. Looking at MAN engines after a century of continuous research, are we approaching a limit for how much more efficient the engines can become?

If you had asked engineers a decade ago, they would have told you current efficiencies were unachievable!

We are working towards further improving the efficiency of our portfolio of diesel fuelled engines, and will be targeting improvements in engine management, via our new engine control system, as well as broader digitalisation improvements.

This is a key area of focus for MAN. We are continuing to pursue research into combined cycle technologies (such as power turbines, steam turbines or Organic Rankine Systems) to utilise waste heat recovery as a means of improving the efficiency of the engine. We are also looking at other ways of integrating our engines into other shipboard systems - such as using excess air to drive other systems. The growth in refrigerated alternative fuels, such as LNG, has also opened up the area of ‘waste cold recovery’ from fuel gas supply systems, for example.

Q A

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

MS 100 CONTAINERSHIP FOCUS Given the pace of technological development, how do you choose which areas to focus your research?

Compared with the world of 15 years ago, we have to choose from a wide range of different research areas including advanced combustion and spray injection modelling technology; improvements in digitalisation techniques; engine monitoring and control and emerging energy management issues.

It is important to prioritise and maintain focus when undertaking research projects. (The Motorship noted that MAN ES successfully developed its new low pressure ME-GA engine platform under a compressed development timetable. The engine remains on schedule for the early 2022 commercial launch deadline.)

Commercial considerations also need to be borne in mind: we need to develop engine platforms that are scalable. If we utilise common components on engine platforms as far as possible, this minimises the number of variants.

In addition, 10 or 15 years ago, we were dealing with a monofuel world. As a supplier to the industry, we have to prepare for the emergence of new fuels, so that we have the solutions on the shelf when the customer needs them. These new fuels, and combinations of fuels, all have different characteristics compared with diesel fuel, which has knockon implications for engine research. To give one example, methanol and ammonia are both low lubricity fuels that have poor combustion characteristics.

Luckily, we don’t have to do everything ourselves. There are areas where we benefit from collaborations with partners.

We have established links with a number of technical universities in pre-commercial and ‘blue sky’ research areas.

For commercial development work, we have long-standing relationships with several engine manufacturer licensees, while we also see increasing opportunities for research with industrial partners.

Q A

Q

What are the next areas for improvements in efficiency?

Having successfully lowered SFOC in our latest engine platforms by increasing combustion pressures, we are looking at finding the sweet spot between improved fuel efficiency and minimising emissions. Finding the correct balance is a challenge.

Sequential injection, an established technology on common rail engines, permits each injection valve to fire individually. The advantage from an engine designer’s perspective is that the fuel mix can be modified dynamically, permitting very rapid changes in fuel air ratios. The sequential injection technology ensures an additional tool in our toolbox for securing that we can hit the sweet spot between engine efficiency and engine emissions. We have recently added sequential injection to our portfolio on our largest engines.

As the development of new engines with increased combustion pressures are not only increasing mechanical stresses but are also increasing heat load of combustion chamber components, we are of course also focusing on development of new materials with improved resistance against mechanical and thermal loading to secure improved/ enhanced reliability of combustion chamber components Further all the new control strategies including the new control strategies for engines operating as dual fuel or triple fuels are increasing the requirements for control hardware, we will begin rolling out a new engine control system, TRITON, across our electronically-controlled engine portfolio over the next few years. The TRITON engine control system will be introduced as a standard solution on new electronically controlled engines and will offer a number of benefits.

A

These benefits include enhanced control. This will be fundamental to two new efficiency solutions that MAN ES is launching: sequential injection and gas optimisation.

However, as I mentioned, we are also seeing the impact of digitalisation solutions on efficiency. Improved access to engine data will improve our insight into the performance of our engines. The latter will lead to improvements in longterm engine performance as we get improved access to operational data from our engines.

This focus on improved reliability is part of our mediumterm goal to eliminate unplanned maintenance between dry docks by 2030. In other words, we want to develop platforms that are more efficient, without an reduction in operational reliability.

There is another aspect to operational efficiency. Our customers will also be able to achieve greater efficiencies by using data. You can have a highly efficient car, but the fuel efficiency you achieve will vary depending on how you drive it. [Early in his career, Sørensen spent a period as deck officer at sea]. Improved monitoring of components and engine performance help us provide support to crew members and colleagues located ashore.

8 Brian Østergaard Sørensen is a master mariner who subsequently qualified in mechanical engineering

Finally, how do you feel the recent Covid-19 situation has affected customer interest in alternative fuels?

It is perfectly true that the recent Covid-19 situation is likely to have an impact on customers’ appetite for investing in the short-term. But I don’t think that the recent interest in fuel efficiency measures has just been a function of high fuel prices. The drivers of the decarbonisation agenda are regulations, and social pressures - and ultimately a wider energy transition that is starting to occur. e receiving increasing enquiries from across the world from both large and small owners, as well as brokers and financiers - who want to understand the technology. At MAN, we have an important role to play in making the technology available. We can show the way towards what is possible and can also support the transition.

Q A

‘‘

Commercial considerations also need to be borne in mind: we need to develop engine platforms that are scalable. If we utilise common components on engine platforms as far as possible, this minimises the number of variants

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

JUNE 2020 | 41

DESIGN FOR PERFORMANCE

HULL FORM OPTIMISATION DROVE SUPER-ECO ULTRAMAX GAINS A hull form optimisation project using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) helped a new class of Ultramax bulk carriers to achieve best in class fuel consumption

8 The first two LEM65 class super-eco Ultramax bulk carriers have entered service

In the spring of 2017 Cyprus-based shipowning group Lemissoler launched a project to improve the efficiency of an existing Ultramax bulk carrier design. The project involved close collaboration between Lemissoler, the Chinese shipbuilder New Times Shipbuilding, Shanghaibased naval architects SDARI and classification society ABS. The project resulted in a new class of 65,000 dwt super-eco Ultramax bulk carriers, LEM65.

The initial discussions encompassed the vessel’s main particulars, including cargo intake which was agreed prior to commencing the optimisation of the vessel design, with work initially focussing around the initial hull form proposed

by SDARI. HULL FORM OPTIMISATION The optimisation work involved the ABS Energy Efficiency team in Copenhagen and the Houston-based CFD team, which utilised a range of CFD models and a proprietary optimisation tool in the ABS Large CFD Cluster.

The optimisation of vessel hull form is a fine balance between minimising the power requirement without compromising either the cargo intake in terms of available deadweight nor the tons per centimetre (TPC) immersion for commercial reasons.

Christian Schack, who leads the ABS Energy Efficiency team, commented on the need for close dialogue between the project partners. “In order to optimise a vessel hull form and propulsion arrangement it is paramount to understand the intended operation and the intent of the owners. Thus we always seek to have as close a dialogue as possible to understand the ‘pain points’ for the owner, enabling us to optimise the vessel as far as possible.”

42 | JUNE 2020

The work was carried out in multiple rounds to ensure that each element of the hull form was carefully evaluated and optimised. in total more than 5,000 CFD simulations were carried out. After each round of optimisation, the results were presented to the joint team and discussed to ensure that the data were consistent and did not breach any of the preagreed requirements.

As a part of the optimisation process, open-water data for the specified Kappel propeller design from MAN Energy Solutions was provided in the final optimisation of the aft of the ship, to ensure the propeller had the best operating conditions with an even inflow of water to the propeller disk.

The final optimised hull form was subsequently evaluated using the same procedures as were applied for the baseline hull design in order to quantify the performance gains. It was found that the required power - averaged over the operational profile - could be reduced by 4.4% and that at the same time, the required power at the design condition was reduced by 5.6%. The power savings corresponded to a saving in fuel oil consumption of about 4.3% over the operational profile, which in this case consisted of four speed and draft combinations and of about 6.2% at the design condition.

INNOVATIVE FEATURES In addition to the process of rigorous hull form optimisation, the vessel design encompasses a series of other innovative features to reduce energy consumption, including: 5 Optimised propulsion system with well selected main engine and Kappel propeller delivered by MAN Energy Solutions to minimize fuel consumptions and eliminate vibrations;

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DESIGN FOR PERFORMANCE 5 Propeller boss cap fin to reduce the hub swirl and improve propulsion performance; 5 Fan duct to improve flow into the propeller disk and in turn reduce the power requirements; 5 Optimized skeg to ensure course-keeping ability without adding additional resistance; 5 Aerodynamic accommodation design to minimize air resistance; 5 Super-eco electric cranes co-developed by Lemissoler and manufacturing partners; 5 Wide installation of LED fixtures to reduce the lighting power consumption 5 Optimized energy generation and consumption throughout the vessel.

The CFD simulations were verified by model tests performed at model basin China Ship Scientific Research Center (CSSRC) in Wuxi, China.

Several model tests were performed to evaluate the impact of multiple combinations of Energy Saving Devices (ESD), until the optimal results were obtained at the prevailing operational profile delivered by Lemissoler.

The rigorous tests confirmed that the optimisation had produced the expected results and provided a high level of confidence to the joint team about the final performance of the vessel series when built.

During the model tests the EEDI condition was also tested and this allowed the preliminary EEDI to be calculated.

The preliminary EEDI results showed that the unique design was able to meet proposed Phase 3 of the EEDI rules which define 30% lower emissions than the baseline.

PRINCIPAL PARTICULARS - MV Lem Geranium Length, overall 199.90m Breadth, moulded 32.26m Depth, overall 18.50m Draught, scantling 13.50m Deadweight 64,900 Main engine 7G50ME-C9.6 Class ABS

8 Christian Schack noted that the results of the optimisation process translated into SFOC savings of about 4.3% over the operational profile

SEA TRIALS AND OPERATIONAL EXPERIENCE PERIENCE The sea trials of the first vessel MV Lem Geranium in late November 2019 confirmed that hat the vessel’s performance was in line with expectations ctations from the hull form optimisation and model tests. sts. The sea trials allowed the calculation of the e final EEDI for the vessel, confirming the he results from the model tests. All ll results have been further verified d following the deliveries of MV Lem m Geranium in early December 2019 9 and MV Lem Marigold in March 2020.

Lemissoler Technical Director Dimitris Solomonides said: “Our operational experience with our so far two deliveries MV Lem Geranium m and MV Lem Marigold has been n exceptionally good and could even n say exceeded our expectations when n we initially pitched the ‘LEM65’ 65’ concept to ABS and SDARI.”

www.navalia.es

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JUNE 2020 | 43

SHIP DESCRIPTIONS

ANOTHER LANDMARK IN SHUTTLE TANKER OPERATIONS

Credit: AET

An innovative breed of DPST, powered by LNG and liquefied cargo vapour, promises competitive advantages as Norwegian environmental controls tighten, writes David Tinsley

Transferring crude oil on a year-round, intensive basis from North Sea and Norwegian Sea offshore loading points to refineries and terminals in dedicated, purpose-designed tankers is an especially demanding sphere of the business, requiring a very high level of capital intensity, technical and operational know-how.

To ensure the dependability, safety and efficiency of the cargo handling and transportation service sustained in often extremely arduous conditions, proven systems and technologies employed are of an order that render shuttle tankers among the world’s most sophisticated crude oil carriers.

A new generation is hoisting the benchmarks for economic performance and emission control. Following the recent introduction of the first of Teekay’s E-Shuttle Tanker series, two vessels built for a joint venture of South East Asian and Norwegian interests have made their debut under charter to Norwegian energy group Equinor (formerly Statoil). The 128,000dwt Eagle Blane and Eagle Balder integrate a raft of advances intended to provide the kind of long-term ‘sustainability’ and operational flexibility necessary to the logistics of ultimately ensuring the competitiveness of Norwegian-produced oil.

Each twin-skeg tanker is powered by low-speed engines using LNG as the primary fuel, and is additionally endowed with the capability to capture, liquefy and burn 100% of the volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions issuing from the cargo as supplementary fuel. The adoption of a more efficient system of dynamic positioning (DP) and a direct current (DC) shaft generator solution in combination with LNG dual-fuel main and auxiliary machinery and VOC recovery is expected to save up to 3,000t of fuel per annum compared with ‘conventional’ DP shuttle tankers of similar size.

44 | JUNE 2020

8 New-generation offshore crude oil loader Eagle Balder uses vaporised cargo in the fuel mix

Eagle Blane and Eagle Balder have been constructed on the Korean peninsula by Samsung Heavy Industries to the account of AET Sea Shuttle, a joint undertaking of Singapore-based owner and commercial operator AET and the Norwegian shipping company Arendals Dampskibsselskab (ADS).

Immediate and sustained employment for the new tonnage has been secured by way of seven-year charters to state-owned Equinor. The assignment will entail crude oil liftings from fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, in the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and southern Barents Sea, as well as the UK Continental Shelf.

Technical management is in the lap of another Norwegian firm, OSM Maritime. Project oversight was afforded by EagleStar, the MISC Group’s integrated marine services arm, jointly owned by MISC Berhad of Malaysia and subsidiary AET and created from the in-house shipmanagement divisions of the respective companies.

Tankers designed for bringing shipments direct from the offshore fields have an operating profile typified by sailing patterns involving short voyages and frequent cargo handling, and need to deal with especially large amounts of VOC. Venting and flaring of VOC, vapours which naturally arise from the crude oil during loading and transportation, is not only environmentally harmful but also represents a loss of cargo volume over the course of a voyage.

The dual-fuel specification for the Eagle Blane and Eagle Balder embraced not only each ship’s two propulsion engines but also the two principal auxiliaries, applying arrangements that allow operation on a mix of LNG and VOC. Consequently, the vessels are expected to emit 85% less SOx, 98% less particulate matter (PM) and 93% less black carbon particulates, as well as 98% less NOx than DP-

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SHIP DESCRIPTIONS equipped shuttle tankers burning heavy fuel oil. The design allies with IMO’s target to reduce carbon energy per work transport unit by 40% against 2008 baselines by 2030, and halving of CO2 emissions by 2050.

In gas mode, the low-pressure, dual-fuel two-stroke engines fulfil IMO Type III requirements as to NOx, obviating the need for exhaust gas aftertreatment, and comply with the global sulphur cap. Furthermore, the intended trading areas necessitate adherence to the Gothenburg Protocol.

Implemented this year, the edict laid down by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has set a cap on VOC emissions.

According to AET’s president and CEO, Captain Rajalingam Subramaniam, who is also chairman of joint venture AET Sea Shuttle, “These vessels are proof that environmental sustainability and commercial viability can coexist, and are also testament to the fact that operational performance does not have to be sacrificed in the pursuit of reducing emissions. The goal was always to leverage the combined experience of AET, ADS and Samsung Heavy Industries to develop vessels that really push the boundaries in what is possible in North Sea DP operations, and to prove the value of LNG dual-fuel solutions in the energy shipping segment.”

Each tanker’s propulsion installation is based on two sevencylinder models of the X52DF engine designed by Winterthur Gas & Diesel (WinGD), driving two Kawasaki controllable pitch propellers. The rating diagram for the 7X52DF extends from a nominal maximum continuous output of 10,430kW/105rpm at the R1 rating point to 6,510kW/79rpm at R4.

The low-pressure gas admission principle adopted in the X-DF series is conducive to the blending of VOC with natural gas, since condensation of heavier hydrocarbons can be avoided.

Two years ago, a test campaign was carried out at the Trieste engine complex in north east Italy whereby an X-DF unit was run on an NG/VOC mix. This demonstrated the engine’s capabilities under various load scenarios with up to 20% VOC in the fuel ratio, and confirmed performance throughout transfers from pure natural gas to a combination with VOC, as well as when switching to diesel mode and back again. While efficiency criteria were maintained, it was shown that NOx emissions remained significantly below IMO Tier III levels when burning an NG/VOC mix.

The VOC recovery system, devised and supplied by Wartsila, involves a two-stage process. The heavier fractions are removed in the first stage, and medium fractions from propane to hexane are condensed to liquid state in the second stage, forming the liquefied VOC (LVOC). The fuel supply line for the LVOC comprises a deck-mounted, pressurised storage tank, the evaporator, and LNG/VOC mixing unit and control. The fuel mix can be ingested in the two main dual-fuel auxiliaries, nine-cylinder Wartsila 34DF engines, as well as the main engines.

ABB’s proprietary power and energy management system (PEMS) enables the generators to operate at variable speeds in optimal fashion. The arrangements are in stark contrast to traditional alternating current (AC) systems where the gensets run at fixed maximum speed irrespective of the pertaining, onboard power demand, leading to excessive engine wear over time and poor fuel efficiency at lower loads.

Together with PEMS, ABB’s integrated control and monitoring system provides the crew with means to manage the vessel’s steaming and DP operations at the lowest possible specific fuel consumption.

The two-stroke engines act as the primary source for power using ABB’s Onboard DC Grid shaft generator solution for all operational modes. The combination of the Onboard

8 Using energy recovered from Wärtsilä’s VOC Recovery unit (pictured), shuttle tankers can lower their CO2 emissions by around one-third

DC Grid and the generators on the two-stroke shaftlines has facilitated a reduction in conventional gensets, cutting fuel consumption and emissions.

Augmenting the variable pitch main propellers and highlift rudders, the underwater wherewithal for the precise manoeuvring and station-keeping demanded of an offshore loader takes the form of a single Kawasaki tunnel thruster in the bow, and three retractable, azimuthing thrusters, two forward and one aft.

The ships feature the latest (5th) generation of bow loading systems, allowing greater connecting angles, so as to extend the offshore operational window in conditions where shuttle tankers would normally be hard-pressed to get the loading line connected. The arrangements are intended to enable the hose to be married up with the offshore platform or buoy in a significant wave height of 4.5m, at an entry angle of up to 110 degrees.

Eagle Blane received her DNV GL class assignment on February 7 this year, and Eagle Balder on March 13.

In what constituted one of the first endorsements of the dual-fuel concept by the crude carrier sector, AET commissioned two Aframax tankers equipped with WinGD two-stroke X-DF engines in 2019. Both vessels, Eagle Brasilia and Eagle Bintulu, were also products of the Samsung complex at Geoje Island.

PRINCIPAL PARTICULARS - Eagle Blane Length overall 276.66m Length bp 265.02m Breadth, moulded 46.00m Depth 23.40m Draught 15.30m Gross tonnage 85,745t Deadweight 128,427t Main engines 2 x WinGD 7X52DF Auxiliaries 2 x Wartsila 9L34DF Class DNV GL Class notations 1A1 Tanker for oil, BIS, Bow loading, BWM(T), CCO, Clean(Design), COAT-PSPC(B, C), COMF(C-3, V-3), CSA(FLS2), CSR, DAT(-10degC), DYNPOS(AUTR), E0, ECA(SOx-A), ESP F(A,M,C), Gas-fuelled, HELDK(S,H), LCS, NAUT(AW), Recyclable, RP(2,50%), TMON(oil-lubricated) Flag Norway

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JUNE 2020 | 45

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JUNE 2020 | 47

50 YEARS AGO

LARGE MEDIUM SPEED POWER The June 1970 issue of The Motorship included two special supplements (of which more later) so there was rather less general news and feature material than was the norm 50 years ago.

The main editorial opinion piece concerned insurance - something which, from the technical side, still today tends to be regarded as a cargo and business issue. Our predecessors were bemoaning the fact that, despite the numerous technical advances that contributed to the overall safety of the vessel, premiums seemed to be based solely on ship size, with perhaps a small discount for a highlyassessed owner with a good record. One suggestion was that owners were being discouraged from investing too highly in safety features because the consequent extra cost would reduce profitability and attract higher insurance premiums because of the high capital cost of the ship. “Technical considerations are apparently irrelevant,” the editors wrote, quoting the safety benefits of multiple engines. “Underwriters are unwilling to negotiate even a derisory allowance for twin-screw propulsion.”

A leading article described successful engine performance results of the Finlandia, an 8168gt Baltic ferry, the largest and fastest of its type. Powered by four Wärtsilä-Sulzer 9ZH40/48 medium-speed engines, each of MCR 4,950bhp at 430 rpm, arranged in pairs, each pair driving a CP propeller through a reduction gearbox, the ship had performed reliably for over two years, running on HFO. The writers had been able to witness the cylinder covers and valve gear on one engine being opened up for inspection, and everything was in good clean condition with little evidence of wear. Operator Finland Line said that initially, these being the first of a new engine design, problems were expected, and a couple of early piston ring breakages were cured by a change to chromehardened upper rings; similarly three main bearings were replaced after water contamination from a defective heat exchanger. Because Finlandia could run happily on three, or even two, engines, maintenance could be carried out while the vessel was in service.

The same engine design had been chosen for a new order to be built at Wärtsilä, for three 36,000 hp icebreakers for export to the Soviet Union, the biggest single order ever placed in Finland. The ships were to use a diesel-electric propulsion system, each vessel

8 Prototype UDAB 6-cylinder engine on the Götaverken test bed

48 | JUNE 2020

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 SALES & MARKETING t +44 1329 825335 f +44 1329 550192 Brand manager: Toni-Rhiannon Sibley tsibley @mercatormedia.com Marketing marketing@mercatormedia.com EXECUTIVE Chief Executive: Andrew Webster awebster@mercatormedia.com 8 British Rail’s new Irish Sea container ships could carry 184 standard 20ft boxes

equipped with nine 12-cylinder ZH40/48 main engines and seven Wärtsilä 814TK auxiliaries.

The main ship description concerned the second of two container ships for Irish Sea service linking Holyhead with Dublin and Belfast. The ships were built at the Verolme Cork dockyard, and powered by twin Mirrlees 2,100 bhp medium speed engines. At a mere 184 TEU they seem minute compared with today’s leviathans. Restricted draught at Holyhead meant the vessels drew only about 4m, while they were fitted with bow rudders rather than bulbous bows as manoeuvrability was considered more important than speed.

The first of the supplements explored the ‘Clyde’ ship series in depth. This was a design proposed by Upper Clyde Shipbuilders, as a standard ship with wide appeal, along similar lines to the Liberty Ships and the various replacements. The Clyde class was intended to add efficiency and versatility to these basic designs, even if it was slightly more expensive. It could be built for containers, bulk cargo or general duties, and powered by a Sulzer 5RND68 two-stroke engine.

The other supplement devoted 44 pages to the Swedish UDAB engine, a medium speed unit for applications where high horsepower was required from compact dimensions. Its designers anticipated that the engine was the future of container and ro-ro ship propulsion. Power output of up to 20,700 bhp was expected from the largest, 18-cylinder version.

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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.

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