LNG

June 30 (LNGJ) - Ascenz Marorka, the smart-shipping unit of French LNG gas storage technology firm GTT, has obtained Type Approval certification from European classification society DNV for its advanced Shaft Power Limitation solution to enable cleaner shipping.

   “The solution helps ship-owners and operators comply with the International Maritime Organisation regulations aimed at curbing green-house gas emissions and carbon intensity by 40 percent before 2030,” said Ascenz Marorka. “It monitors propeller shaft power and signals an alert in the wheelhouse if the shaft power exceeds the EEXI calculated maximum power. The system logs the periods where the limit was exceeded and enables crew to give comments,” it added.

European maritime classification society DNV has established a Future Ship Joint Innovation Centre in Shanghai in partnership with China State Shipbuilding Corp. (CSSC), the world’s leading shipbuilding group.

DNV and CSSC said the facility would allow both companies to cooperate on ship and offshore field technical innovation and to advance digitalization while providing technical support and general solutions for the maritime industry.

The new Innovation Centre was formally opened by CSSC Vice President Sheng Jigang and DNV Maritime Chief Executive Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen.

The CSSC yards include China’s leading LNG carrier builder Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding of Shanghai.

Its current orders include building six LNG carriers for a partnership including Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines and China’s Cosco Shipping to be delivered in 2025.

DNV joint operator

DNV will operate the Innovation Centre with the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI) and the cooperation accord was signed by SDARI’s President Lv Zhiyong and DNV’s Senior Vice President and Regional Manager Norbert Kray.

The Centre will set up three joint work groups on reducing carbon-dioxide and promoting digital and smart shipping.

“The establishment of this Centre is an important step for a deepened strategic cooperation between CSSC and DNV, China and Europe,” stated CSSC VP Sheng.

“Additionally, the mutual trust and advantages gained will pave the way for an in-depth technical exchange between SDARI and DNV China, accelerating research on green and intelligent shipping technology towards a global maritime transformation,” Sheng added.

DNV Maritime’s CEO Ørbeck-Nilssen said it was a great honour cooperate with CSSC and SDARI to establish the Centre.

Support

“DNV will support the Centre with its full global expertise. Together we will work to ensure it will become a model for the maritime industry’s proactive response to decarbonization and digital transformation,” Ørbeck-Nilssen declared.

Others who attended the ceremony included CSSC’s Assistant President and Director General of Technology Division Xu Miao, SDARI’s Vice President Li Lu and DNV’s Senior Vice President and Reginal Strategic Business Development Director James Huang,.

Also in attendance were DNV's Vice President and Regional Customer Relations Director Hou Juzhen, Vice President and Head of Technical Centre China Øyvind Pettersen and members from the new Centre and its working groups.

European classification society DNV has classed two LNG-powered bulk carriers owned by Maran Dry Management (MDM), the dry bulk shipping arm of Greece’s Angelicoussis Group, and has seen both vessels through to successful bunkering operations.

DNV said the Greek company took delivery of the two Newcastlemax bulk carriers from Shanghai Waigaoqiao Ship Building Co. in China.

The “Ubuntu Unity” was delivered on February 28 and the “Ubuntu Community” on April 18.

“The 190,000-deadweight ton vessels, registered with the Greek flag, are the first dual-fuelled bulk carriers in the Greek market and will sail using LNG,” said the Norway-based class society.

DNV has been at the forefront of the growing LNG fuel market in classing vessels and assisting developers.

“The two Newcastlemax LNG-powered vessels are 299.80 metres long, 47.5 metres wide and 24.70 metres deep, with a design draft of 18.25 metres and a design draft speed of 14 knots,” said DNV.

LNG tanks

They can use both LNG and conventional fuel and are equipped with two Type-C LNG fuel tanks.

DNV explained that the capacity of the LNG tanks means that the vessels could operate for 20,000 nautical miles powered by gas, allowing the vessels to complete two round-trip routes from China to Australia or one round-trip route from China to Brazil.

Both vessels were described by DNV as having a combination of “very advantageous” dual-fuel and hull optimizations and high energy efficiency.

“We are very pleased to have been involved with the charterer, owner, yard and designers from the outset of this project,” said Morten Løvstad, Vice President and Global Business Director for Bulk Carriers at DNV Maritime.

“These highly efficient and innovative vessels, with dual-fuel engines, and an optimized hull design, show MDM’s commitment to meeting environmental regulations not just today but over the long term,” Morten Løvstad.

Designs

Captain Babis Kouvakas, Managing Director that MDM as part of the Angelicoussis Group was committed to embracing sustainability initiatives to optimize its fleet’s environmental performance.

“We are delighted to have collaborated with DNV and SWS on the design and development of these modern and environmentally friendly ships. Both vessels incorporate the latest technology, aiming to reduce carbon emissions,” Kouvakas added.

Ioannis Chiotopoulos, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for South East Europe, the Middle East and Africa at DNV Maritime, said the two vessels marked the high level of cooperation between the Angelicoussis Group and DNV.

“These new vessels clearly show the Group`s commitment to driving sustainability in the bulk segment, and are great examples of how the maritime community is taking up the challenge of reducing our environmental footprint through innovation,” Chiotopoulos explained.

“We thank MDM for their trust and welcome ‘Ubuntu Unity’ and ‘Ubuntu Community’ to DNV class. May they enjoy smooth sailing for many years to come,” Chiotopoulos added.

Both Ubuntu vessels are on charter to global mining company Anglo American.

Keppel Shipyard in Singapore has started work on the conventional LNG carrier “GasLog Chelsea” to convert the vessel to a floating storage and regasification unit to be deployment as an import terminal in eastern Greece to supply the Balkans region.

The FSRU will be stationed in the north-eastern part of the Aegean Sea and about 17.6 kilometres (11 miles) from the costal Greek town of Alexandroupolis.

The vessel is being renamed “FSRU Alexandroupoli” and will serve as an offshore storage and import facility.

The “FSRU Alexandroupoli” will be linked to a pipeline system of 28km connecting the floating unit to the Greek National Natural Gas Transmission System (NNGTS).

The ship of 155,000 cubic metres capacity was also recently reflagged to the Greek flag.

The project’s owner, Gastrade, leads a consortium of key players in the wider region’s energy market. The group includes Mrs Elmina Copelouzou, the shipping line GasLog, the Public Gas Corporation of Greece (DEFSA), the affiliated Greek company DEPA Commercial, the Hellenic Natural Gas Transmission System Operator and Bulgartransgaz, the Bulgarian natural gas transmission and storage system operator.

Ship for its time

“GasLog believed in the ‘FSRU Alexandroupoli’ endeavor from the very beginning and at a time when energy security in Europe was taken for granted,” said Kostas Karathanos GasLog’s Chief Operating Officer.

“We worked patiently and diligently to reach this stage and we are extremely proud to soon offer the first ever FSRU in Greek waters,” added Karathanos

“Through GasLog’s renowned high standards of safety and reliability, the ‘FSRU Alexandroupolis’ will offer energy diversification and security to the wider region and establish GasLog as an integrated provider of natural gas solutions,” he stated.

GasLog is being backed in the conversion process by the leading European classification society DNV.

Martin Cartwright, Business Director DNV Maritime’s Gas Carriers and FSRUs division, said the project was moving forward as a result of “an exceptional collaborative” effort.

Ninth FSRU

“This will be our record 9th FSRU conversion project as a classification society and we take great pride in being entrusted with supporting this initiative,” explained Cartwright.

“By choosing DNV and our pioneering REGAS (ES) and ASP notations, the consortium demonstrates that they are focused on delivering an installation that meets the most innovative and rigorous standards in the industry,” he stated.

The investors noted that the “FSRU Alexandroupoli” vessel and the project aim to add a new gateway for natural gas in the Greek and wider Balkan region, improving the region's energy mix and diversifying energy sources to enhance security.

Spanish energy company Repsol said the first terminal in Spain to supply liquefied natural gas as marine fuel was growing its customer base and a second LNG bunkering facility in the same region was under development.

European maritime classification society DNV said that there was still momentum in orders for LNG-fuelled vessels from ship owners in the month of June even as LNG bunker prices increased further in ports such as Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

European maritime classification society DNV said that ship owners placed orders for 30 more LNG-fuelled vessels in the month of May 2022 even as bunkering fuel prices were at elevated levels in ports such as Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

European maritime classification society DNV said that ship owners placed orders for 14 liquefied natural gas-powered vessels in March 2022, mostly for containerships and car carriers even as LNG bunkering fuel prices continued to increase.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French liquefied natural gas technology company, received the final approval for its newest LNG storage tanks for carriers from Europe’s three leading maritime classification societies.

European classification society DNV has granted an initial approval to Norwegian company Passer Marine for the development of a new LNG fuel tank insulation system suitable for Type-B fuel tanks.

The new Passer Marine concept is designed for prismatic Type-B LNG tanks, which according to International Maritime Organisation rules require a partial secondary barrier.

The Passer Marine equipment includes a leakage detection system capable of safely managing and containing fuel leaks.

“The system we have developed is cost-effective and production-friendly,” said Svein Konradsen, Chief Operating officer of Passer Marine.

“The pandemic has been challenging for many companies and for the development of this particular design,” explained Konradsen.

“The required testing has been difficult to finalize due to interruptions and limited possibilities to travel, but finally we have been able to submit the necessary documentation which I am very pleased to say was accepted by DNV,” he stated.

Konradsen said the Approval In Principle (AiP) from DNV was a boost for the company in the storage tanks equipment market. 

As LNG-fueled vessels are increasingly being deployed for deep-sea shipping, fuel tank sizes need to increase from 300-1,000 cubic metres of fuel capacity to up to 10,000-20,000 cubic metre, which leaves less room for cargo.

“As such, there is increased industry interest in alternative fuel tanks, known as Type-B, which are prismatic in shape and more volume efficient than traditional cylindrical Type-C tanks,” explained Passer Marine, which has offices in Norway, Lithuania and China.

“Between 95 and 99 percent of LNG-fueled ships contain Type-C fuel tanks, but many newbuilds on order contain Type-B specifications,” the company added.

Monika Johannessen, a Head of Department at Hamburg, Germany-based DNV Maritime, explained the thinking behind the initial approval of the Passer Marine tanks insulation.

“There are several insulation concepts under development that provide an integrated secondary barrier and leakage detection system, but there are few proven systems available on the market,” said Johannessen.

“We are pleased that Passer Marine has chosen DNV to pursue verification for this innovative concept and look forward to receiving the documentation for full approval,” she stated.

An AiP is widely recognized in the industry as an early phase verification level for new design concepts or for existing designs in new applications.

The approval issued by DNV is an independent assessment of a concept according to an agreed requirement framework within DNV rules, notations and regulations.