Christoph Rofka News

At the 30th CIMAC World Congress, the new president and the new board have been elected. New President is Rick Boom. He follows to Prof. Jin, Donghan who, as past president, remains member of the Board. In a brief inaugural statement, the new president-elect Rick Boom thanked his predecessor Donghan Jin for leading the organization through the difficult period of the pandemic and congratulated him on his successful leadership. Climate change and the associated challenges posed enormous challenges for the large engine industry, which must be met, Rick Boom said.

Every three years, the large engine industry meets for the CIMAC World Congress. Next year, after Helsinki in 2016 and Vancouver in 2019, Busan in South Korea will host the CIMAC Congress from June 13 -17, 2022. Shipbuilding is dominated by Asia with South Korea as key player for decades. So, there is good reason for the Congress to meet there.But, to first address the question that is currently being asked the most: Against the background of the pandemic, will the congress really take place? No one can know for sure, and there is certainly no guarantee.

One of the  new tools that engine builders are using these days to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions is Valve Control Management (VCM), ABB’s variable valve train system, more so since duel-fuel engines become an increasingly popular choice by shipowners. Initially introduced in the shore-based gas plant sector, Christoph Rofka, Senior General Manager for New Business at ABB conjectured at that time and with an eye to the future:  “A technology like this speaks to the increasing trend to explore dual-fuel options and create solutions for gas. Basically the technology helps a turbocharger to manage air actively and is particularly effective for high-performance engines in which large operating ranges or rapid load responses are required such as tugboats…

ABB Turbocharging's high-pressure tuning (HPT) has been added to MAN Diesel & Turbo’s two-stroke marine diesel engine tuning options. HPT is a new engine tuning for part and low loads designed to fully leverage pressure ratio and turbocharger efficiency, two critical factors in a turbocharger that are often not used to their full potential. HPT forces more air into a two-stroke engine by increasing the pressure 0.5 bar above what would normally be expected from the turbocharger. Most turbocharging setups for part and low load require some extra hardware such as an exhaust gas bypass (EGB) or variable turbine geometry to reduce excess pressure from the cylinders.

Held on 9 September at SMM, more than 150 delegates attended this year's CIMAC Circle, covering the total cost of ownership of marine propulsion engines. Inevitably, the panel of engine builders, engine (vessel) operators and engine system and component makers were strongly influenced by the effects on engine first costs and engine running costs of the upcoming IMO Tier II and Tier III emissions regulations, due in 2011 and 2015 respectively. As Dr. Udo Schlemmer-Kelling of Caterpillar Motoren noted in the title of his lively presentation: IMO III is knocking at our door. The levels of emissions reduction prescribed by IMO Tier III for vessels operating in Emissions Control Areas clearly come at a price…