Lng Conversion

ECA Compliance Waiver Granted to US Shipowner TOTE

EPA and USCG facilitate a move by Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE) to convert its vessels to alternative fuels. Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE) has received a permit providing a conditional waiver from the current Emissions Control Area (ECA) fuel sulfur content requirements of MARPOL Annex VI regulation 14.4 while the company pursues conversion of its vessels to alternative fuels.  The permit was issued by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) under authority provided in Regulation 3 of Annex VI. This permit is the product of a public-private partnership among TOTE, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the USCG. It will enable TOTE to develop and convert its two ORCA-class vessels, already the “greenest” ships in the U.S. domestic fleet, to the use of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as their primary fuel source. The conversion will advance technology and accelerate the use of natural gas as a cleaner domestic energy source. “This is the first permit issued under the Annex VI, Regulation 3 program, and it is tangible evidence that when committed organizations join together, innovative solutions can result,” said Phil Morrell, Vice President of Marine and Terminal Operations at TOTE. “When the Orca class vessels were delivered in 2003, they were purpose-built to serve the Alaska market and exceeded all regulatory and environmental standards

NASSCO to Design TOTE LNG Propulsion Conversion

General Dynamics NASSCO, contract with Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE) to design the conversion of two Orca-Class  trailerships. The contract is to design the conversion of the company’s two existing Orca Class, diesel-electric trailerships to liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion. This design contract is in addition to the new-construction order that TOTE Shipholdings placed with NASSCO last month for the construction of two new LNG-powered containerships.

Emerson Wins Contract with Golar LNG

Emerson Process Management has won a contract from Golar LNG to supply PlantWeb digital automation architecture for basic process control and safety systems on the Golar Freeze, a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) vessel.  Currently an LNG carrier, the Golar Freeze will be converted into a floating terminal, and docked at a purpose-built jetty in the Jebel Ali Port near Dubai, UAE. Golar will operate the vessel

Golar LNG Restructuring & Equity Offering

Golar LNG Limited announced a major restructuring combined with an intent to conduct an equity offering in its newly formed subsidiary, Golar LNG Energy Limited. Consistent with the announcement made in Golar's first quarter report, Golar has incorporated Energy in Bermuda for the purpose of transferring such part of its asset portfolio which is not employed on long term charters to this entity. The transfer will include the following assets and activities:

Pilot Program to Convert Drill Rigs' Power Plants to LNG

EQT launches pilot program to convert Marcellus drilling rigs to LNG fuel use for diesel engine power needs EQT Corporation has announced the launch of a pilot program to begin converting drilling rigs to liquefied natural gas (LNG), displacing the diesel used to power equipment at the well site. This program marks the first LNG rig conversion in the Marcellus Shale and will provide a cleaner burning alternative fuel for the region’s drilling operations.

Staten Island Ferry LNG Conversion Planned

Plans are in hand to convert one of the two diesel oil-fuelled 'Austen-class' ferries to use Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). A pilot program conducted on one Staten Island Ferry, if successful, could save the city nearly half the boat's fueling cost annually, reports the 'Staten Island Advance'. An unspecified Austen Class ferry will be converted from using ultra-low-sulfur diesel to liquefied natural gas (LNG) during a routine dry docking in 2013.

ABS to Class First Conversion of CGLC from Suezmax Oil Carrier

SeaOne Maritime Corp. is contracting ABS to class and certify the proposed conversion of several existing 150,000 dwt suezmax oil tankers to Compressed Gas Liquid Carriers (CGLCs). Earlier this year ABS issued its Approval In Principle, or AIP, on the SeaOne containment system using the ABS Guidance Notes on Review and Approval of Novel Concepts. The ABS AIP process draws upon engineering, testing and risk assessments in order to determine if the concept provides acceptable levels of safety

China Steps Up with LNG

China has made concrete progress in shipbuilding. In September 2007, the first LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) ship made by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) will be delivered, reported the state-run Xinhua News Agency on February 19, 2007. The LNG ship has a capacity of around 47,199 cubic meter and is currently under-construction by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, an arm of CSSC, the topmost shipping group in China and third largest in the world.

N-KOM Drydock Receive First Qatargas Vessel

Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine (N-KOM) has received the first Qatargas-chartered vessel “Al Wakrah” to dry dock at the Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard, Qatar’s new, world-class offshore and marine hub at the Port of Ras Laffan. “Al Wakrah”, which is owned by a Japanese consortium led by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) and managed by MOL LNG Transport Co., Ltd. (MOLLNG), will undergo general maintenance works such as main and generator turbine

Converteam Delivers First 36MW Generator

Power conversion specialist Converteam has shipped the first of two massive 75 tonne, 36 Megawatt generators designed specifically to match the electrical power requirement of the propulsion motors for the Royal Navy's Queen     Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers. These are major components of the electrical system for the two new 65.000 tonne ships for which Converteam has designed the innovative Integrated Full Electric Power (IFEP) and propulsion system