LNG

Scandinavian Biogas, a Swedish producer of BioLNG has signed a long-term supply agreement with German filling station owner Alternoil GmbH, which has 40 LNG stations in its network.

Høglund Marine, the Norwegian company specializing in both retrofit and newbuild projects, has signed a contract to supply an advanced LNG Fuel Gas Supply System for three German ships owned by the German Federal Government to be deployed in hazardous roles.

The customised Fuel Gas Supply Systems (FGSS) have been developed to allow the LNG-fuelled vessels to take on hazardous roles such as pollution control, emergency towing and firefighting.

Høglund, based in Tønsberg in southeast Norway, signed the agreements with the Abeking and Rasmussen (A&R) shipyard for three multipurpose vessels ordered by the German government’s Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration.

The design and construction of the three vessels is being supervised by the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute.

To meet the advanced specifications for the LNG system that ensures safe operation in hazardous atmospheres, Høglund will be collaborating with HB Hunte Engineering, headquartered in Oldenburg in the northern German state of Lower Saxony.

“This project makes A&R the only shipyard worldwide offering LNG-fuelled vessels that are qualified to operate in hazardous atmospheres,” said Høglund.

These 90-metre-plus vessels will be equipped with engines generating up to 12,000kW and 145 tonnes of bollard pull, and will have a top speed greater than 15 knots.

The three vessels will also be exclusively LNG-powered. Although suitable for worldwide operation, they will be deployed within the German coastline where they will carry out works on sea marks, pollution control and utilising hydroacoustic equipment as well as in pollution control, emergency towing and firefighting.

Høglund explained that given the intended versatility and multiple roles of the vessels and the hazardous atmospheres they will operate in there are obvious additional safety requirements.

“Consequently, the yard alongside their federal supervisor and owner are placing extra consideration on the design of the LNG system,” said the Norwegian company.

To meet these specifications, A&R, Høglund and HB Hunte Engineering have collaborated to develop a dedicated gas safety concept.

“With Høglund taking responsibility for the overall FGSS product delivery, HB Hunte will contribute a unique LNG tank design, pipe engineering and integration of the LNG system into the wider vessel architecture,” said Høglund.

“Combining skills and expertise in this way is key to supporting the greater safety measures required for special vessels of this type,” it added.

Høglund said that equipping an LNG-fuelled vessel to conduct waterborne firefighting, pollution control and emergency response missions is a particular challenge, as safety must be guaranteed.

The design of the new vessels will meet the requirements of UK maritime classification society, Lloyds Register, and satisfy the strict rules for gas and low flashpoint fuels (IGF Code) aggravated by operation in hazardous atmosphere (gas protection operation).

“With increased uptake of LNG as an alternative fuel, it is important that systems such as the FGSS and dedicated automation are in place to support its safe and effective use,” said Peter Morsbach, a Vice President at Høglund.

“We must take into account complex safety concerns stemming from impacts on the operational profile and atmosphere,” he added.

“In this case here, the focus lies on the system’s safety concept and related design measures in terms of the tank connection spaces, gas treatment rooms, ventilation and monitoring,” stated Morsbach.

Liqvis GmbH, the liquefied natural gas fuel subsidiary of German utility Uniper, has opened its second LNG filling station near the city of Kassel on the A7 motorway and another seven are being constructed or planned.

Trucking companies in Germany do not have to pay motorway tolls if they have natural gas fuel and Liqvis said the exemption was proving effective in getting companies to switch from the more pollutant diesel.

The latest station in the state of Hesse in central Germany adds to the first one previously opened in Grünheide near Berlin.

Liqvis, based in the German city of Essen, said the Kassel station on the A7 between the Kassel-Mitte interchange and the Kassel-Süd triangle was built in just about four months and is open 24 hours a day.

Kassel previously had a mobile station to dispense LNG and that is now being moved from Kassel to Hamm in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia to expand the LNG fuel network.

“The Kassel location in the centre of Germany made the site a hotspot for long-haul heavy trucks, as previously demonstrated by the high demand at the mobile station,” said Liqvis.

“The new station will make refueling faster and more convenient for customers,” the company added.

“Two trucks can now be refueled at the same time, and in the future this could even be increased to four,” explained Liqvis.

The Uniper unit’s LNG station network will also spread into other European Union countries, including France with a facility at the Channel port of Calais.

The Calais station is already under construction and among other sites chosen for stations in Germany are Rosengarten near Hamburg and Langenhagen near Hanover.

“Thanks in no small part to the toll exemption in Germany, LNG has established itself as a fuel on the market over the last three years, which can be seen in the large increase in revenue at our filling stations,” said Silvano Calcagno, Managing Director of Liqvis.

“At Liqvis, we want transport companies to be able to plan the use of their vehicles as flexibly as possible,” added Calcagno.

“That's why we're continually working on expanding our network coverage and I am looking forward to being able to open further stations in Germany and Europe over the course of this year,” he stated.

The main advantages of truck companies switching to LNG are emissions well below the Euro VI standard and less noise from the engines.

“The ‘quiet’ LNG engine technology lowers noise levels for deliveries outside normal traffic times,” said Liqvis.

“In addition, by switching to LNG, operators can refuel their vehicles with a larger amount of natural gas, meaning that their fleets can travel longer distances,” it added.

The German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) is expected to will take delivery soon of the LNG -powered 75-metres long survey vessel “Atair”.

The newbuild features propulsion and manoeuvring systems from the German Schottel Group.

These included a Schottel Pump Jet type SPJ 220 (1,000 kW), one Schottel Transverse Thruster type STT 1 FP (330 kW) in the bow and one Schottel Transverse Thruster type STT 170 FP (200 kW) in the stern.

The research vessel was being completed at the Fassmer yard on the west bank of the Weser river, 25 kilometres northwest of the North Sea port of Bremen, for handover to the BSH.

The LNG-fueled ship has a large 130 cubic-metre tank onboard which enables the ship to run on LNG alone for 10 days. 

“When opting for diesel operation (dual fuel), high-quality diesel fuel oil with a sulphur content less than 0.1 percent is used,” said Fassmer.

Hamburg-based LNG supplier Nauticor took care of the purchase and transport of the LNG for the first filling of the tanks of the “Atair” and assisted Fassmer with the first fuel load.

Nauticor also ensured LNG supply during the entire testing phase and the successful initial bunkering of the “Atair” in February 2020.

The ship is to be put into service in the first half of 2020 to replace the previous “Atair”. 

Equipment onboard includes several laboratories, a station for measuring air pollution while at sea, a crane, a bridle beam for geological activities on the seabed, a large 200s square metres work deck and extensive diving equipment, including a diving chamber.

The vessel’s underwater noise has been optimised to meet the DNV Silent Class Notation (SILENT R). The Schottel propulsion units are also designed to have low noise emissions.

Chart Industries, the US maker of equipment for the liquefied natural gas and industrial gas sectors, has completed the commissioning of Europe’s largest LNG filling station to help meet rising demand by trucking companies for cleaner fuel to reduce emissions.

Fluxys, the Belgian natural gas network operator and owner of the Zeebrugge LNG import terminal, and Russian Yamal LNG export plant majority stakeholder Novatek have signed a land lease agreement to build and operate an LNG terminal in the northeast German port of Rostock.