Duel Fuel News

Gearbulk and Grieg Maritime Group joint venture G2 Ocean is adding two more ammonia-ready 82,300 dwt open hatch vessels to its fleet. Chinese shipbuilder CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Longxue will build the vessels for scheduled delivery in 2026.Following its commitment to only purchase newbuilt vessels with zero-emission technology, Grieg signed a contract in May 2023 with the shipyard CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Longxue which included two firm plus two optional 82,300 deadweight tonne (dwt) ammonia-ready open hatch vessels. Last week, Grieg exercised its option for the two additional vessels.

French container shipping line CMA CGM has ordered 16 containerships from China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) in a record-setting deal worth upward of $3 billion.The 21 billion Yuan ($3.06 billion) shipbuilding order, said to be the largest ever placed for containerships in China, is for 12 methanol dual-fuel 15,000 TEU vessels and four liquefied natural gas (LNG) duel-fuel 23,000 TEU vessels.The 15,000 TEU ships will be constructed at Jiangnan Shipyard and Dalian Shipbuilding Industry (DSIC)…

Encouraged by the success of a hybrid drives program, Siemens is going all out in Norway to automate production of that core marine energy storage enabler, the lithium battery. Offshore service vessel charterers, rig owners, ferry operators and ship owners are the target market. Trondheim’s technical university and a recent history of hosting battery makers and system integrators has made it launchpad for new applications involving the new BlueDrive Plus C drives and batteries.Siemens’ Norwegian head of strategy and business development…

Lubricating duel-fuel auxiliary engines: a practical approachChevron Marine has released the latest in a series of white papers focusing on innovations and developments impacting the fast-changing shipping industry.Click Here to Download the Whitepaper.‘Lubricating dual-fuel auxiliary engines: a practical approach’ explores the unique challenge of using engines that run regularly on either fuel oils or LNG. Around three quarters of ships using LNG as fuel have dual-fuel, four-stroke engines.

Lessons learned on designing, building & operating with methanol as fuel.Generally averse to technological risk, maritime professionals lean on lessons learned, when available, to make future decisions. According to Fredrik Stübner, Director Ship Management, Marinvest, his organization’s experience running ships on methanol can be instructive for others considering emission reductions technologies, and to this end he suggests:1. VESSEL DESIGN“For other shipowners considering methanol as fuel…

Swedish-based Viking Supply Ships (VSS) in partnership with funds managed by Borealis Maritime, has entered into a contract to purchase two platform supply vessels (PSV) currently under construction. In addition to the partial ownership, VSS has been awarded full operational and commercial management of the vessels, the company said.VSS did not reveal specific transaction details, but said the pair has been acquired at a significant discount compared to original contract price…

China Merchants Offshore Technology Research Center (CM-OTRC), the R&D center for China Merchants Industry Holdings (CMI) of Shenzhen, China, have completed the basic design of the OOS Zeelandia a new semisubmersible crane vessel (SSCV) that, when built, will have the largest lifting capacity in the world. Designed in close collaboration with OOS International B.V. (OOS) of the Netherlands, it is being classed by American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), who have recently granted Approval in Principle (AIP) to the vessel design.With a total lifting capacity of up to 25…

Kongsberg Digital (KDI) will deliver to GasLog a comprehensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) simulator package designed to enable new levels of safety and operational training for the owner/operator’s professional crews.GasLog operates 27 LNG vessels through its subsidiary, GasLog LNG Services and has seven ships currently on order. The KDI contract represents a commitment and investment on GasLog’s part to provide a high-level training environment for their crews, solely focused on LNG operation.The scope of supply is based on an integrated…

Samsung Heavy Industries(SHI) revealed on April 4th that a contract for two 174,000㎥ LNG carriers on BOD approval term. The price is 184 million USD per vessel(around KRW 195 billion). The latest LNGCs would be delivered in July and October 2020. The contract comes with option for two. The LNG carriers would be equipped with Mark-Ⅲ Flex type containment system with re-liquefaction to lower BOG. The vessels are loaded with fuel saving technologies customized for the owner's operational needs. The vessels are powered by X-DF, the trending duel-fuel engine that can use both natural gas and diesel as fuel. X-DF is highly efficient for it propels with its own power. The engine characterized by low pressure system assures safe operation for owners.

Singapore-headquartered vessel owner AET Tankers - a subsidiary of Malaysia's MISC Berhad - has named and welcomed four newbuild tankers into its fleet in two separate ceremonies at South Korean shipyards. At Samsung Heavy Industries, Geoje, South Korea on Wednesday, 24 January, AET named two 113,400 dwt Aframax tankers “Eagle Barcelona” and “Eagle Brisbane”. Two 157,512 dwt Suezmax twins, “Eagle San Francisco” and “Eagle San Jose”, were named two days later on Friday, 26 January, at the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea. All four vessels will join the AET fleet as part of an ongoing fleet rejuvenation programme and take up charter agreements with leading oil companies.

The Vancouver International Maritime Centre (VIMC) is on a mission to grow the city and port into one of the world’s premiere maritime centers. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News recently spoke with Kaity Arsoniadis-Stein, Executive Director of the newly re-established VIMC, for her insights on the pace and direction of the initiative. Let’s start out easily. Why Vancouver? Why now? Why Vancouver? Projections and studies indicate that global trade will increase and shift to the Pacific due to the demand of resources by China and India.

Desgagnés has taken delivery of the duel-fuel tanker M/T Damia Desgagnés, a brand new vessel recently built in Turkey. A next generation and state-of-the-art asphalt-bitumen-chemical tanker, she is the first of a series of four oil carriers, custom-built according to an original concept developed by Desgagnés and ordered at the Besiktas shipyard located in Yalova near Istanbul, Turkey. The Damia Desgagnés is the first dual-fuel powered Canadian-flagged tanker and the first-ever asphalt carrier of this type. Double-hulled, she is equipped with a Wärtsila 5RT-flex 50DF engine developing a power output of 5,450 kW. The ship can be powered by any of three types of fuel, namely heavy fuel oil, marine diesel oil or liquefied natural gas (LNG).

ABB will supply the power and electric propulsion system to a new Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) for BW Group, which will also be remotely connected to ABB’s Collaborative Operations Centers. The equipment onboard will provide data to the shore-side Centers allowing ABB and the vessel owner to take a proactive approach to maintenance throughout the lifetime of the vessel. “The modern power system must be both efficient and connected,” said Juha Koskela, Managing Director of ABB’s marine and ports business.

The use of LNG in marine applications is becoming increasingly common. It offers a big potential in terms of operating costs and emission reduction. Diesel engines converted to dual-fuel show considerably reduced emissions in case of high conversion ratios. Depending on the emission standard which is required, expensive and unwieldy exhaust aftertreatment systems can become unnecessary or their implementation costs are significantly lower. The engine performance is comparable to gas engines. HEINZMANN, a specialist in engine and turbine management solutions, offers dual-fuel retrofit systems for a wide range of diesel engines to be converted to gas operation and at the same time providing all the safety features required for marine applications.

Low energy prices, depressed day rates and slow growth of bunkering infrastructure has dampened progress for the marine industry’s ‘white knight’ of environmentally friendly fuels. LNG, nevertheless, is here to stay. Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is a clean fuel in abundant supply. The green advantages of LNG are well known: Class Society DNV-GL, a pioneer in the commercialization of LNG fueling for maritime applications, offers that use of LNG fuel provides “the complete removal of SOX and particle PM emissions and a reduction of NOX emission of up to 85 percent ...

In the immortal words of one Kermit the Frog, “it’s not easy being green.” Nor inexpensive. Offshore ship owners managing the demand “fallout” of the past year and navigating myriad environmental strictures say their leap of faith toward greener fuels has taken its toll. The idealism of a decade ago has eroded, they say, in the face of lost offshore business, especially long-term contracts. Oil company clients that once insisted on high-spec, “green” vessels haven’t renewed contracts for those ships.

A group of South Korean companies including shipbuilders have come together to establish an association dedicated to developing liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering facilities and infrastructures including LNG-fueled vessels, says a report in the Pulse. Last week, officials representing 21 private and state-run entities in Korea gathered to attend the inaugural meeting of the LNG Bunkering Industrial Association. They were from major shipbuilding and energy companies including Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Korea Gas Corporation, Posco Co., Samchully Corp., GS Energy Corp. and SK Energy Co.

A contract to renovate B.C. Ferries’ two largest vessels has been awarded to the largest shipyard in Poland for $140 million. BC Ferries awarded the conversion contrast to Remontowa Ship Repair in Gdansk, Poland. That’s the same company that earlier received the contract to build three new duel-fuel ferries that will be able to run on either liquefied natural gas (LNG) or diesel. The ferry corporation announced on Thursday that both Spirit-class ferries, the Spirit of Vancouver Island and Spirit of British Columbia, will undergo mid-life upgrades at Remontowa Ship Repair Yard S.A. in Gdansk, Poland so that the vessels can be used for another 25 years.

EBDG’s LNG bunkering barge design receives ABS approvals as the maritime industry increasingly looks to LNG as a fuel of the future. In early June, Federal Maritime Commissioner William P. Doyle told listeners at an LNG Bunkering conference in Vancouver, Canada that “Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) bunkering in North America is moving forward … There is an abundant supply of natural gas in North America. Utilizing natural gas as a marine fuel would help ship owners and operators comply with the MARPOL Annex VI requirements to reduce air pollution from ocean going vessels.” That much is true. It’s also true that there is any number of ways for vessel operators to get to the Promised Land. Nevertheless, LNG – as a fuel – has certainly stepped out into the lead on that mission.

Harvey Gulf International Marine (HGIM) is launching a new affiliate, Harvey Shipyard Group, to manage its shipbuilding assets, the company announced today. Harvey Shipyard Group is acquiring Gulf Coast Shipyard (Gulfport, Miss.) and Trinity Yachts (New Orleans, La.). HGIM Chairman and CEO Shane J. HGIM said it intends to work with its affiliates to catapult the Gulf Coast Shipyard, which constructed the nation’s first LNG OSVs for the offshore market, in addition to tank and hot oil barges. HGIM alone is investing $350 million to construct its dual-fuel fleet.

Classification society ClassNK has granted approval to the design of the new 28AHX-DF dual-fuel engine developed by Niigata Power Systems Co., Ltd. The new engine is slated to be used as the main engine on a new LNG-fuelled tugboat being built by Keihin Dock Co., Ltd. for NYK Line. The vessel will be Japan’s first LNG fuelled vessel, excluding LNG carriers. New regulations for Emission Control Areas (ECA), including new stricter limits on sulfur emissions as well as the IMO’s Tier III NOx emission limits, are driving demand for new engine and emission control technologies.

The last commercial shipyard on the Clyde, Scotland, has secured grant to help safeguard 125 jobs and create a further 100. Ferguson shipyard has been awarded a £1m grant to refurbish its Port Glasgow premises and help fund new jobs. Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd (FMEL) received the grant from Scottish Enterprise which will boost the number of full time staff from 150 to 250 at Port Glasgow. The  Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) funding will contribute to Ferguson Marine's redevelopment of its premises and investment in new state of the art equipment. Last month, Ferguson was awarded a £97m Scottish government contract to build two new ferries. The firm was saved from administration last year by Jim McColl's Clyde Blowers Capital.

DNV GL has presented Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company Limited (DSIC) with an Approval in Principle (AiP) certificate for a new LNG-fuelled very large crude carrier (VLCC) design at the first day of the Marintec China trade fair. The new, innovative design has been found to comply with the Gas Fuelled notation as given in the DNV GL rules for the classification of ships and the recently adopted IGF Code. “This AIP is another step toward the more widespread adoption of LNG as a fuel for shipping,” says Torgeir Sterri, DNV GL Vice President and Regional Manager in Greater China. “The emissions and efficiency benefits of LNG mean it is almost sure to become an important part of the fuel mix over the next few years.