Dual-fuel Tanker Delivered to Desgagnés
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).
With a deadweight of around 15,000 tons, her tanks offer a carrying capacity of 14,950 m3 when filled at 98 percent. She can carry over 13,500 tons of asphalt at a draft of 7.8 meters in seawater. The Damia Desgagnés also holds a Polar 7 certification, confirming her capacity to navigate in ice-laden waters. In addition, in order to ensure exceptional maneuverability and increased safety, she is equipped with a variable pitch propeller, a 750 kW bow thruster, a 550 kW stern thruster and a dynamic positioning system.
Since last August and in addition to the training received in Canada, over 15 Desgagnés crewmembers and managers traveled to Turkey in order to familiarize themselves with the Damia Desgagnés’s special features and technologies as well as with her dual-fuel propulsion system, in addition to participating in the various verifications, inspections and trials. An intense training effort has been carried out to prepare Desgagnés’s crewmembers to take charge of the Damia Desgagnés and the three other tankers currently in various stages of construction. To date, a total of nearly 2,500 hours of training in the handling of LNG has been given.
LNG refueling distribution networks for vessels without specific service points and trading various routes remain a major challenge, but they are under development in collaboration with different partners such as Gaz Métro and the ports of Quebec and Montreal. Desgagnés will continue working with the various suppliers to improve and adapt their services to the needs of the marine industry. “LNG has a bright future in maritime transportation and Desgagnés will actively contribute to broadening its use” said Louis-Marie Beaulieu, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Desgagnés.
The M/T Damia Desgagnés is scheduled to weigh anchor around April 10. She will most likely make a first delivery in Europe before heading to North America, where she should arrive mid-May, all subject to the cargo that she will carry.
