The Motorship March 2022

MARCH 2022

Vol. 103 Issue 1201

LNG conversions:

Jumboisation for boxships

Sidsel Norvik: Topical Nor-Shipping

LNG and CII:

On the pathway

UK ammonia study:

RSC combustion consortium

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: £4bn for UK Shipbuilding | Maiden WinGD ammonia-ready order | Alfa Laval ORC | North America shipyards

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MARINE TECHNOLOGY

CONTENTS

MARCH 2022

8 NEWS

6

16 Ammonia debut for WinGD

WinGD has won the order to supply 4 x X-92DF2.0 dual-fuel ammonia-ready engines for four 14,000 TEU containerships to Pacific International Lines.

16 Hanshin Methanol

Hanshin Diesel Works is planning to develop a dual fuel low-speed 4-stroke engine capable of operating on methanol as part of a Japanese consortium.

18 West Pole

The EU’s determination to cut Russian natural gas imports by two-thirds by the end of 2022 will transform global energy markets, and create near-term demand for seaborne LNG imports.

FEATURES

12

REGULARS

8 Regional Report

Shipbuilders in the USA are developing a more diversified orderbook, albeit with the essential bedrock of naval work, writes David Tinsley.

12 Leader Briefing

Sidsel Norvik, Director of Nor-Shipping sees technology, people and leaders coming together in April’s Nor-Shipping 2022 event.

38 Ship Description

Online motorship.com 5 Latest news 5 Comment & analysis 5 Industry database 5 Events

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INEOS has given new dimension to its logistic and trading activities through the entry into service of the 99,000m3-capacity liquefied gas carrier Pacific INEOS Belstaff, writes David Tinsley.

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24

15 Ne’er the twain

A new UK research project aims to develop an ammonia-fuelled 4-stroke engine using Recuperated Split Cycle engine technology.

22 Widening methanol options

MAN Energy Solutions is planning to introduce S60, G60 and G70 versions into its ME-LGIM engine programme.

24 On board CCS

BG Freight Line is installing Value Maritime's Filtree exhaust gas cleaning and carbon capture system onboard two of containerships chartered from HS Schiffahrt.

30 Glycerol and tribology

Dr Roland Larsson of Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, highlighted the potential of glycerol as a new, sustainable lubricant base.

34 Lube rates and GHG emissions

Rathesan Ravendran, Technology and Innovation Specialist, Hans Jensen Lubricators A/S discusses how cylinder lubrication oil consumption contributes to GHG emissions.

The Motorship’s Propulsion and Future Fuels Conference will take place this year in Hamburg, Germany.

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MARCH 2022 | 3

NEWS REVIEW

VIEWPOINT

ME-GI ENGINES TO POWER LIQUID CO2 CARRIERS

NICK EDSTROM | Editor nedstrom@motorship.com

The World Remade Writing in mid March, as the war between Russia and Ukraine entered its fourth week, and against the backdrop of heightened tensions between the Russian Federation and NATO members and other western nations, it might appear frivolous to talk about the wider economic consequences of the conflict.

This is not to downplay the wider risks as we appear to be moving closer to a direct confrontation between NATO and the Russian state than at any other point since the mid-1980s.

While the Russians see the war as a simple struggle to reassert their Great Power status, with the right to determine the political and economic orientation of neighbouring states, supporters of the government in Kyiv see the war as a battle to defend the last vestiges of the post-1945 rules-based international order. It is probable that both sides will be disappointed: the introduction of modern military drone technology appears to have rendered traditional Russian military doctrine obsolete while the near-term impotence of unprecedented UN and G7 sanctions to bring Russia to heel will not have escaped the notice of other interested parties.

These same tensions are likely to be felt in the maritime industry, where the aftereffects of the Ruso-Ukrainian war are likely to be wider-reaching and longer-lasting than anyone could have anticipated before the war. The announcement by IACS Council that it was withdrawing the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping’s membership of the classification society body on 11 March marks a step towards the fragmentation of international shipping community’s institutions. Quite how the International Maritime Organization will maintain consensus in the face of competing national objectives will be closely followed.

While any assessment of the final effects of the conflict on international trade flows will have to await the final territorial realignments, the outlines of the transformation in international trade flows is slowly becoming apparent. As Ukraine is a systemically important supplier to various commodity trades, ranging from ags to finished steel products, the effects of extensive sanctions on Russianaffiliated entities, as well as restrictions on trade finance and insurance will limit exports dramatically. The response of the Russian authorities hints at a return to pre-1991 style autarchy in the country, and potentially closely integrated regional neighbours. As the Russian saying has it: “your point of view depends upon where you sit at the table”.

However, it is in the energy markets that the greatest changes can be expected. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced plans on 11 March for the European Union to bring forward the elimination of fossil fuel imports from the Russian Federation to 2027. It is likely that the announcement will lead to a rapid expansion in seaborne LNG import volumes into the EU, with a secondary focus on expanding the supply of alternative fuels.

The EU’s policy proposal is likely to lead to Russia diverting existing gas shipment volumes from Europe to the seaborne market for supply to new destinations to the south and east. The announcement by Russia itself that had finally reaching a long-term agreement with China on 4 February to expand bilateral gas shipment volumes seems increasingly significant in hindsight.

4 | MARCH 2022

8 Illustration of the Carbon Capture Heat Recovery system

Dalian Shipbuilding Industry has ordered 2 × MAN B&W 7S35ME-GI dual-fuel engines in connection with the construction of two 7,500 cubic-metre, liquid CO2 carriers for Northern Lights, the joint venture between Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies.

Each ME-GI engine will feature MAN Energy Solutions’ proprietary EcoEGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system. Delivery of the 130-metre carriers has been set for mid-2024.

Northern Lights is responsible for developing and operating CO2 transport and storage facilities as part of Longship, the Norwegian Government’s full-scale, carbon-capture-and-storage (CCS) project. Northern Lights will create the first ever, cross-border, open-source, CO2 transport-andstorage infrastructure network, offering European companies the opportunity to store their CO2 safely and permanently underground.

The newbuilding carriers will be used in the first phase of Northern Lights’ transport-and-storageinfrastructure development and are designed to transport liquid CO2 in purpose-built, pressurised cargo tanks. The dual-fuel ME-GI engines will mainly burn LNG, while other technologies such as a wind-assisted propulsion system and air lubrication will be installed to reduce carbon intensity by around 34%, compared to conventional systems. The ships are the first of their kind and have the potential to set a new standard for CO2 shipping on coastal trading routes.

The Northern Lights project allows for further phases to expand capacity through future investments triggered by market demand from large CO2 emitters across Europe.

Wayne Jones OBE, Chief Sales Officer and Member of the Executive Board of MAN Energy Solutions, said: “We are delighted with our role in this groundbreaking project. With the current focus in the maritime world on reducing methane slip, our dual-fuel ME-GIs will keep carrier emissions to a minimum in this project whose green credentials will be carefully examined. These vessels’ construction enables the revolutionary development of a flexible and efficient, European infrastructure for CO2 capture from industrial customers. I am convinced that the Northern Lights project has great potential for application across Europe.”

Norcem carbon-capture project The Norwegian Government’s Longship project aims to demonstrate that carbon-capture technology can be applied to larger industrial plants and set a new standard for future industrial projects. The HeidelbergCement Norcem plant near Oslo will be the first to use the Carbon Capture Heat Recovery technology (CCWHR®) developed by MAN and Aker Carbon Capture from the summer of 2024 when it will capture 400,000 tons of CO2 annually, corresponding to 50% of its overall emissions.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

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NEWS REVIEW Swiss engine designer WinGD has confirmed an X-92DF2.0 order for LNG dual-fuel, ammonia-ready containerships.

The four 14,000 TEU containerships are being built for Singapore-based Pacific International Lines (PIL) at the Jiangnan shipyard in China. They will be capable of operating on both gas and liquid fuels. They will be fitted with WinGD’s latest GHG emission reducing technology iCER (Intelligent Control by Exhaust Recycling) which delivers enhanced combustion control. This creates an energy consumption reduction of 3% in gas mode, and fuel consumption savings of up to 5% in diesel mode, while reducing methane slip by as much as 50% in gas mode.

The delivery of these vessels, with the first due in August 2024, is in line with WinGD’s broader ambition to grow sales of multi-fuel engines capable of operating on carbon-neutral fuels to 50% of the company’s order book by 2030. This is in line with the industry’s predictions as to when these fuels will be available at scale.

WinGD’s Integrated Digital Expert (WiDE) system is also included in the order.

PIL has been a customer with WinGD since 2013 and has vessels operating with the company’s X72 and X92 engines.

The reliable operational performance and efficiency of these engines was cited as an important factor in the award of this latest order.

BRIEFS IACS expels RS

The IACS Council adopted a resolution on 11 March 2022 that withdrew the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping’s membership of the body “with immediate effect”. The Council decision was taken by a majority decision following a review of the sanctions environment and the receipt of external legal advice. The resolution followed the European Commission’s announcement that RMRS was being added to a list of sanctioned entities on 10 March.

6 | MARCH 2022

WinGD ENGINES CHOSEN FOR AMMONIA-READY CONTAINERSHIPS Volkmar Galke, Director of Sales for WinGD, said: “We have made a firm commitment to the energy transition, and to delivering engine technologies capable of operating with clean alternative marine fuels. Working with technology focused customers like PIL ensures that we will reach these goals. This first order for ammonia-ready vessels with our dual-fuel, low-pressure X92DF-2.0 engines reflects our capabilities in offering customers zero-carbon or carbon-neutral fuel solutions. It means that our customers can already invest today with confidence in future fuel-ready engine technology.”

KM to propel new electric ferry

Kongsberg Maritime (KM) is to supply a complete propulsion and control system package for what is reportedly destined to become the world’s largest allelectric doubled-ended ferry.

Expected to enter service in 2024, the Scandlines zeroemissions vessel has been designed by LMG Marin in Norway and will be constructed at Cemre Shipyard in Turkey.

“Scandlines is setting an example which is destined to secure the viability of freight ferries in an environmentallyconscious world,” said Roy Egil Høydal, senior sales manager, Seaborn & Pax, Kongsberg Maritime, “and we’re very proud to be associated with such a responsible, gamechanging project.”

The new 147.4m ferry will carry a maximum of 140 passengers and 66 cargo trucks at a service speed of 16 knots and will be equipped with Kongsberg’s pulling azimuth thruster, Azipull.

The thruster will be delivered with controllable pitch propellers, in an L-drive configuration with an integrated permanent magnet drive motor. This increases overall energy efficiency while reducing noise and vibrations, as well as reducing the physical footprint of the thruster system compared to previous deliveries.

Kongsberg will also be supplying its Mcon Propulsion & Thruster control system to control and monitor the ferry’s propulsion and steering.

The new freight ferry will operate the crossing between Puttgarden, on the German island of Fehmarn, and Rødby in Denmark.

Emission-free crossings will be completed in one hour and 10 minutes. The vessel could also be operated as a hybrid ferry, reducing the journey time to 45 minutes.

Updating the infrastructure to support the new electric ferry and its planned successors is already in hand: The 50kV/25MW power cable which Scandlines laid in Rødby harbour in 2019 is being extended to the ferry berths, where a transformer and charging station will also be installed.

J-ENG GDF licence

Alfa Laval ORC

GFRP rudder flap AiP

Guangzhou Diesel Engine Factory Co., Ltd. (GDF) has signed a license agreement with Japan Engine (J-ENG) for the nonexclusive right to manufacture J-ENG’s UE 2-stroke engines.

GDF will start with 33 to 50bore engines: GDF confirmed receipt of its first order, for a 6UEC35LSE-C1 type engine for a container feeder, scheduled for delivery in July 2022 shortly after the agreement was signed. GDF has already received orders for more than 30 units.

Alfa Laval is to launch in April a new energy solution based on Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology and able to recover waste heat from multiple sources. The E-PowerPack is a self-contained solution that can generate electricity from many different heat sources on board. These include exhaust gas waste heat, which accounts for 50% of the energy from combusted fuel, but also liquid sources at lower temperatures, such as engine jacket water.

Bureau Veritas (BV) has granted an Approval in Principle (AiP) to InfraCore Company for its design, modelling, production and testing of a full glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) rudder flap for an 18,500 TEU container ship. The certificate was delivered as a result of the EU-funded RAMSSES project, which aims to expand the application and usage of innovative materials to build more efficient and sustainable ships.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

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REGIONAL FOCUS: US SHIPBUILDING

YARDS BUILD VALUE IN NEW FIELDS

Credit: Fincantieri

Shipbuilders in the USA are developing a more diversified orderbook, albeit with the essential bedrock of naval work, writes David Tinsley

Scheduled for completion by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in mid-2022, the 195m self-unloading bulker Mark W.Baker is the first US-owned Laker to have been constructed in the USA for 40 years. Such a positive development for the local industry, sub-suppliers and regional trade contrasts with the paucity of sea-going merchant vessel newbuilds at US yards.

However, US shipbuilders have tapped into opportunities for a broadening range of special-purpose vessels that fall within the compass of the Jones Act, while consolidating the naval workloads that sustain much of the industry. An earnest response to projects in the emergent US offshore wind energy market, which calls for a variety of specialist support vessels hitherto outside the experience of US shipbuilders, is reshaping the domestic orderbook.

After a very lean spell that led to substantial downsizing of its payroll, Philly Shipyard’s success in landing construction contracts for MARAD’s new generation of national security multi-mission vessel (NSMV)/training ships has seen activity and employment ramp up across all departments, with a return to full capacity expected this year. Keel-laying took place in December 2021 for the Empire State, the first of the four NSMV newbuilds in hand, and production is under way on the second ship. An option is held on a fifth NSMV. During November, Philly was awarded a contract by Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co to build a 140m subsea rock installation vessel, marking the yard’s entry into the US offshore wind market and signifying a further phase in its diversification strategy. The deal has commanded approximately $197m, and the prospect of a second such newbuild, presently held as an option, would hoist the business value close to $382m. The design emanates from the Ulstein Group.

8 | MARCH 2022

8 Clean Canaveral, LNG bunker barge delivered by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding

The rock installation vessel contract is an early dividend of US plans for huge investments in offshore renewable energy.

Since operation will be wholly within the US regime, Jones Act stipulations apply, making for the first domestic project of its kind. More than 30 major US offshore wind schemes are forecast to take shape over the next 10 years, promising a massive injection of work and revenues across the country’s marine industries.

First Jones Act WTIV Project A consortium led by Dominion Energy has ordered the first US offshore wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) from the Keppel AmFELS shipyard at Brownsville, Texas, for service entry by the end of 2023. To be classed by American Bureau of Shippin g(ABS), the newbuild has main dimensions of 144m length, 56m width and 11.6m depth, making for one of the largest jack-up WTIVs worldwide. The design provides for the conveyance and handling of turbine sizes of 12MW and above, plus the capability to install foundations or undertake other heavy lifts, using a 2,200t Huisman shipboard crane.

Manned by a US crew, and homeported in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, the vessel will enable the timely construction of planned offshore wind development projects throughout the east coast, including the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) scheme. At some $500m, the huge investment is justified by a pipeline of work commitments from 2023 through 2027, amounting to more than 5GW of US offshore construction.

The sole remaining Jones Act container ship project is nearing completion at Keppel AmFELS, entailing two 2,525TEU vessels ordered by Pasha Hawaii. Each is powered

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

REGIONAL FOCUS: US SHIPBUILDING

LNG bunker barge order The bulker features home-grown, two-stroke mediumspeed diesel machinery in the shape of two 16-cylinder EMD 710 engines that meet EPA Tier 4 and IMO Tier III criteria. A combined output of 5,800kW is delivered through reduction gearing to a single Kongsberg controllable pitch propeller, with crucial manoeuvring capability enhanced by a flap rudder, and bow and stern thrusters.

Growing investment in ships fuelled by LNG has spurred moves in the USA to provide the requisite, dependable bunkering solutions. Construction of the largest LNG bunkering barge ordered to date in the USA was recently initiated at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, with completion slated for the latter part of 2023. Ordered by Crowley Maritime on the strength of a long-term charter to Shell North America, the 127m barge will be the largest Jones Act-compliant vessel of its kind, built to carry 12,000m3 of LNG. Shell currently deploys one Jones Act LNG bunker barge in US waters. Crowley’s newbuild has been designed in-house, and will help expand current LNG network capacity, serving shipping on the country’s eastern seaboard and potentially also energy users ashore.

Seattle-based Centerline Logistics, which is heavily involved in storage and coastwise transportation of petroleum products, has implemented plans to invest in LNG bunkering capacity. The company recently signed a letter of intent with North American consultancy Vard Marine, part of the Fincantieri Group, for the development of a 6,000m3 LNG bunker barge that would be integrated into an articulated tug and barge (ATB) unit. Entry into service is sought during 2024.

Fincantieri’s US shipbuilding arm has already shown its mettle in this emergent, specialised field of construction, through December’s delivery from Sturgeon Bay of the 5,500m3 barge Clean Canaveral, incorporating four Type C tanks and Wartsila LNG handling technology. Integrated with a tug so as to operate as an articulated tug and barge (ATB) unit, the 104m vessel provided the initial wherewithal for contractor NorthStar Midstream’s subsidiary Polaris New Energy, formed to transport and distribute LNG along the coastal and inland waterways. The ATB has cut its teeth in bunkering operations on the eastern seaboard, sourcing LNG from a production facility in Jacksonville.

NorthStar has planned for three such vessels, and a contract was sealed with Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding last November for a second barge, due by mid 2024, to be deployed by Polaris as an ATB delivering LNG direct to cruise ships, container vessels, tankers, bulkers, and vehicle carriers.

Answering a longstanding call for the modernisation and expansion of US icebreaker fleet capacity, Halter Marine has landed an order for a second newbuild Coast Guard polar security cutter (PSC). The deal, confirmed in the final days of 2021, followed the $745m award in 2019 to the Pascagoula

Credit: Dominion Energy

by MAN dual-fuel, two-stroke machinery to cover transits between Hawaii and the US West Coast at 23 knots. The Ohana-class George III and Janet Marie will receive LNG bunkers at Long Beach, stored aboard in protected tankage located on the transom, abaft the superstructure.

The prospective addition to the US-flagged, Jones Act fleet on the Great Lakes, the 28,000dwt Mark W.Baker, has been jointly developed by Interlake Steamship and Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in concert with technical consultancy Bay Engineering. The vessel will transport raw materials such as salt, iron ore and stone, with added scope for project shipments, heavy and outsized items of freight. The self-unloading boom, some 76m in length, is pivoted forward, enabling cargo to be deposited with precision well beyond the quayline.

yard for the design and construction of the USA’s first heavy icebreaker in more than 40 years.

The new generation of 33,700kW diesel-electric ships has main dimensions of 140m x 26.8m and will have the capability to continuously break ice of 1.8-2.4m thickness. Halter Marine is acting as prime contractor in the two fixed-price assignments, and has teamed with Technology Associates (TAI) of New Orleans as designer, and with the ABB Group and Trident Maritime Systems of Arlington, Virginia, for the Azipod propulsion and power distribution systems, respectively.

Caterpillar is supplying the main diesel generator sets.

8 Set for work off Virginia, the newbuild WTIV from Keppel AmFELS in Texas

USCG Icebreaker programme The US Navy’s PSC programme calls for three new vessels, such that Halter Marine holds an option on a third ship. Firstof-class Polar Sentinel is expected to be ready for service in 2025, although plans had originally foreseen commissioning in 2024. To be homeported in Seattle, the nascent generation will be the largest icebreakers ever introduced by the USCG, and will replace the 1976-built heavy icebreaker Polar Star and the 1999-built medium icebreaker Healy.

A further, high added-value project in the offing for the industry relates to the Coast Guard’s requirement for a new Great Lakes icebreaker. Budget reconciliation legislation under consideration in the Senate could unlock the necessary funding before too long. Delays involving US-flag ‘Lakers’ on 20 voyages during the onset of the winter season have been attributed to a lack of icebreaker capacity.

Other capital-intensive, non-warship work emanating from the state sector has included a $149m contract to Halter Marine for the detail design and construction of the navy’s next oceanographic survey vessel. The newbuild will be a modified repeat of the Pathfinder-class USNS Maury, delivered

by Halter in 2016.

Furthermore, with the navy’s only operational cable ship, USNS Zeus, approaching the end of her long service life, 12-month study packages for a newbuild replacement were awarded to three contractors, namely BMT Design & Planning, General Dynamics NASSCO, and Philly Shipyard. The next stage in the project will involve company selection for the detail design and construction (DD&C).

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

MARCH 2022 | 9

REGIONAL FOCUS: US SHIPBUILDING Shipbuilding in California has an important new showcase in the form of the 227m fleet replenishment tanker, or ‘oiler’, the USNS John Lewis. First in a series of six from General Dynamics NASSCO at San Diego, the vessel can load 157,000 barrels of oil, and has capacity for ammunition, consumables and stores, with the capability to provide underway support of naval ships at sea. A further eight of the replenishment tankers of the John Lewis (TAO-205) class, which will be deployed by Military Sealift Command (MSC), are expected to be ordered in the period up to 2023.

Fairbanks Morse Orders Powering is by a pair of MAN 12V48/60CR diesels delivering a combined 28,800kW to ensure a speed of 20 knots.

Manufactured at the Beloit, Wisconsin, plant of licensee Fairbanks Morse, the machinery incorporates exhaust aftertreatment technology. Navy planning calls for 20 vessels of the type, to be ordered in three or four tranches. Fairbanks Morse has already been contracted to supply 34 examples of the 12V48/60CR engine and associated equipment, representing installations for 17 ‘oilers’.

Meanwhile, the San Diego yard implemented construction in December 2021 of the fifth expeditionary sea base (ESB) multirole vessels for MSC. The first three have been delivered, and the fourth ESB is due to be launched in the summer of 2022.

Hitherto an aluminium shipbuilding specialist, Austal USA had announced in June 2020 its intention to plough some $100m into creating a steel shipbuilding capability at its Mobile yard in Alabama, subsequently beginning work on the requisite facilities during March 2021. The initiative was

endorsed soon after by a design contract for the Navajo class of 80m towing, salvage and rescue ship planned by the US Navy.

Ranked as the country’s fifth largest shipyard, Austal USA is now positioned to build up to five Navajo multi-mission vessels. The company’s expansion into the steel naval market has reached a further stage through its selection to perform design studies for the US Navy’s next-generation logistics ship program.

The vast waterway network figures prominently in the latest infrastructure investment support measures advanced by the Biden-Harris Administration. Such is the participation by small, privately-owned yards in the sector, and their contribution to the industry as a whole, that more than 60% of vessels delivered over the 2015-2020 period were inland tankers and dry cargo barges.

New government funding initiatives to promote environmentally-friendly local transportation will help foster business among the country’s wealth of smaller yards. The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has approved funding for 11 projects under a $45m grant programme for ‘zero-emission’ passenger ferry services.

Earlier, in April 2021, grants totalling nearly $20 million were authorised for improvement schemes at 31, mainly smaller shipyard companies throughout the USA. The funding was made under the Small Shipyard Grant Program, overseen by MARAD. Covering capital expenditure on equipment and investment in skills training, the latest tranche of support under the scheme entails individual allocations ranging from $126,000 to approximately $1.4m.

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LEADER BRIEFING

SUSTAINABILITY TAKES CENTRE STAGE AT NOR-SHIPPING Sidsel Norvik, Director of Nor-Shipping sees technology, people and leaders coming together in April’s Nor-Shipping 2022 event Looking ahead to this year’s long-awaited Nor-Shipping conference and exhibition, Sidsel Norvik, Director of NorShipping began by noting that the short delay until April this year had proven to be a blessing in disguise.

“At the time when we were forced to delay all events [because of Omicron] it was a little crazy... but now a few months later, we can see that all the Covid restrictions in Norway have been lifted.” The experience of attending NorShipping will now be the very familiar social interactions and networking, as masks and social distancing mandates were phased out in Norway in February.

There is no doubt that this will make the whole experience of meeting up with old friends and making new ones much easier at Nor-Shipping. “We know that a lot of people are very keen to meet up again face to face after the last few years. And half the fun of Nor-Shipping is making new contacts and growing your network.” Norvik added that the removal of social distancing rules meant that dancing was now back on the agenda at some of the evening parties.

Apart from transforming the experience of attending the event, and the socialising possibilities, the delay has also seen a last-minute increase in the number of exhibitors and delegates wanting to attend the event. “We have seen a particular increase in interest from Asian exhibitors.”

Norvik noted with obvious satisfaction that despite the disruption, Nor-Shipping is expected to fall just short of the 850 exhibitors seen in 2019.

One of the reasons for the pent-up demand was the sheer volume of technical developments that had occurred in the industry since 2019. These events were being strongly reflected in the event’s schedule, all the way from the event’s blue riband Ocean Leadership Conference, all the way through to the Blue Talks that will punctuate every day of the event. For delegates with a more technological focus, the event was awarding three Ship Awards, including a Next Generation Ship Award, while a series of standalone Technical Seminars would be held in Hall E during the event.

The Ocean Leadership Conference will present industry thought leaders on the themes of People, Power and Money.

The last, which is particularly topical in light of the significant amounts of money analysts expect the global energy transition will require.

Other presentations at Nor-Shipping also explore different aspects of the energy transition. Several of the topics in the Blue Talks series look at future fuel debates from different angles, while other Blue Talks focus on digitalisation, autonomy, cross-industry collaboration, financing transformation, circular shipping and carbon capture and storage, following the recent order of a series of liquid CO2 carriers for a Norwegian-led CCS project.

The Marine Hydrogen Conference, which will run alongside Nor-Shipping, is also likely to be extremely topical, Norvik noted. The outbreak of war in Ukraine and the European Commission’s decision to increase Europe’s production and consumption of energy from renewable sources in the coming

12 | MARCH 2022

years means the agenda is more relevant than ever. Marine technology has always been one of Nor-Shipping’s core focuses, and the agenda does not disappoint, with a full day Autonomy summit likely to attract significant interest from delegates interested to find out more about different aspects of autonomous shipping.

“It will be interesting to come back and see the technology has advanced when we hold the next Nor-Shipping, back here in Lillestrøm and Oslo in June 2023.”

This encapsulated Nor-Shipping’s attraction as one of the highest profile events in the maritime calendar. “You need to think really far ahead today, and that is the big challenge. I think coming to Nor-Shipping is where these debates will happen, where you can get inspired, you can learn, and you can also teach the experts.”

Norvik added that for delegates who were too busy visiting exhibitors’ stands or meeting contacts, most of the events will be recorded or live streamed and would be available online after Nor-Shipping.

When asked about her personal itinerary, Norvik said singling out any individual event or presenter would be difficult.

She aimed to visit every single one of the exhibitors’ stands over the course of the event.

8 Sidsel Norvik, Director of Nor-Shipping

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

NATIONAL SHIPBUILDING STRATEGY

BOLD SHIPBUILDING STRATEGY NEEDS DELIVERY TO MATCH The announcement of a £4 billion (US$5.2bn) investment in shipbuilding as part of the revamp of the UK’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSbS) may have dominated the headlines, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s policy represents a highly ambitious attempt to widen the base of civil shipbuilding in the country.

The strategy included a pipeline of 150 new naval and civil vessels that will be ordered by the UK government, as well as the governments of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales over the coming 30 years.

The publication of the pipeline forms part of an attempt to support the raw materials and network of suppliers and subcontractors necessary to maintain a domestic shipbuilding industry. The strategy explicitly sets the goal of broadening the number of suppliers to UK naval projects, which is expected to support the development of local supply chains and lead to improved efficiency (and ultimately export competitiveness).

Several reforms to naval procurement are also likely to support the development of wider supply chains within the country, including potential greater support for collaboration between competitors, as well as the separation of design, shipbuilding, commissioning, servicing, mission systems and propulsion during the procurement process.

The UK’s domestic steel sector has seen capacity decline amid high costs and competition from imported material.

UK-SHORE The strategy also includes a significant £206 million investment in establishing and funding a UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK-SHORE). UK-SHORE will fund research and development of zero emission vessels and infrastructure. We feature a report on a UK research project into an innovative ammonia-fuelled 4-stroke engine technology elsewhere in this issue. The office will also have responsibility for accelerating investment in clean maritime technologies in UK ports.

UK MCA A newly established maritime future technology team within the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) will have a similar focus on supporting emerging maritime technologies.

The team, which has grown significantly in personnel and expertise in recent months, will act as a non-regulatory centre of technical expertise in the research and development of zero emission and autonomous vessel technology. The team is expected to play a facilitating role in the implementation of emerging technologies, guiding innovators through the regulatory process.

New scientific vessels The strategy clarifies that a decision around replacing the research vessel RRS James Cook operated by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will be taken in 2023, while a decision on ordering a zero-carbon replacement for RRS Discovery will be taken between 2030 and 2035.

The current research vessel operated by the UK’s Centre

© British Antarctic Survey

The extension of the UK National Shipbuilding Strategy to commercial maritime shipbuilding, as well as a renewed focus on improving export competitiveness is a welcome step

for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), RV Cefas Endeavour, is approaching the end of its operational life. Work on defining the requirements of a new research vessel will begin in 2022.

Credit Guarantee scheme The strategy also seeks to create a level playing field for local shipbuilders in the British market, introducing a new Home Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme to offer access to finance to underwrite domestic contracts. This addressed the anomalous situation where foreign shipyards were able to benefit from export credit guarantees when competing for contracts in the UK market, providing a level playing field.

Local shipbuilders had identified this as a cause for concern.

8 RRS Sir David Attenborough during construction at Cammell Laird.

The refreshed strategy envisages that a decision on a zero-emission replacement will be taken between 2040 and 2045

Shipyard of the Future While it is unthinkable to imagine that UK shipbuilding could become competitive again in lower margin, higher volume segments of the shipbuilding market, it is interesting to note that the strategy has established a goal of developing a Shipyard of the Future model, which will be drawn up by a Shipbuilding Enterprise for Growth committee. The model is intended to present a best practice guide for UK shipyards, and inform future investment decisions. The Motorship notes that the UK government’s new strategy directly addresses the challenge of developing and retaining skilled workforce around the country, as well as the problem of truncated supply chains within the country, and the over concentration of high-end expertise within a small number of firms.

The publication of the refreshed UK National Shipbuilding Strategy in early March 2022 represents the most significant intervention in the UK’s maritime sector since the 1970s.

However, it is worth contrasting the single-minded purpose with which some smaller nations tenaciously defended maritime interests in the 1960s and 1970s in the face of the emergence of lower cost, more efficient shipyards in East Asia and elsewhere, with the inconsistent approach UK politicians took then during a period of political instability.

We will see whether the breadth of the strategic vision can be matched by the quality of the execution.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

MARCH 2022 | 13

FOUR-STROKE ENGINES

YANMAR VIES TO BRING METHANE OXICAT TECHNOLOGY TO MARKET The introduction of methane oxidation catalyst technology into the 4-stroke market moved a step closer after Yanmar received an AiP from ClassNK for the concept in March 2022 The Japanese 4-stroke engine manufacturer announced that it had received an Approval in Principle from ClassNK for a concept design for a methane oxidation catalyst system for LNG-fuelled engines on 16 March.

The AiP represents the next step in the development of the solution, which the project participants expect will be trialled on board a 94,000dwt coal carrier between 2024 and 2026.

While Yanmar is the first engine developer to receive an AiP for its design, it faces competition from Germany-based competitors to be the first to bring its solution to market, who have also successfully developed concept designs for methane oxidation catalyst systems. Both MAN Energy Solutions’ 4-stroke team in Augsburg and Rolls-Royce Power Systems gained experience into methane oxicat technology during the IMOKAT project.

The potential of the methane oxidation catalyst technology to reduce methane emissions from LNG-fuelled engines is assessed at about 70% by all three companies.

Yanmar factors in potential efficiency improvements into the advance. The company previously confirmed plans to optimise the air-fuel ratio to reduce methane slip.

What distinguishes the Japanese project, which is receiving support from Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) Green Innovation Fund, is the wider consortium of companies involved in the project.

The project brings together catalyst developer Hitachi Zosen, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Yanmar Power Technology. MOL will operate the demonstration vessel for the project, while Namura Shipbuilding will build the vessel and conduct the design for installing the system on board.

The engine improvements will be carried out Yanmar’s four stroke medium speed dual-fuel engine, and the company plans to optimise the air-fuel ratio to reduce methane slip into the exhaust gas from the engine outlet.

A focus on catalysts Hitachi Zosen is developing a new catalyst to oxidise fugitive methane emissions for the application. It was interesting to note that the proposed layout of the system released by Yanmar in December 2021 suggested that the catalytic converter was located after rather than before the turbochargers. While no details about the catalyst were available, it raises the possibility that Hitachi Zosen has succeeded in developing a catalyst that can activate fugitive methane at temperatures well below 500 degrees centigrade. The temperature requirement is one of the bars to the application of the technology to 2-stroke engines.

German competitors Both Rolls-Royce Power Systems and MAN Energy Solutions 4-stroke previously confirmed to The Motorship that they were investigating the possibility of introducing methane oxicat solutions into the market.

MAN ES participated in the German IMOKAT project, which

14 | MARCH 2022

8 Yanmar’s 6EY22ALDF dual fuel engine

was intended to develop a precious metal-free catalyst for the process. The project, which ran between 2017 and 2019, identified a cerium-manganese catalyst as a potential alternative, which would be cheaper to produce than platinum-based alternatives, while offering stable mechanical and physical properties.

Dr. Gunnar Stiesch, Senior Vice President, Head of Engineering Engines at MAN in Augsburg, confirmed in March 2022 that the company continued to plan to bring an oxicat solution to market by 2025. Research into catalystengine interactions was ongoing, with plans for a field test system on board a vessel by 2023.

By contrast, Rolls-Royce Power Systems previously highlighted the potential impact of locating the catalytic converter between the engine and the turbocharger as an area of focus. The company confirmed to The Motorship that an electrically supported MTU turbocharging solution, which offered a solution for projects where increased transient response is required, was technically mature in 2021.

Methane oxidation catalyst technology Early stage investigations into the catalytic conversion of methane for lean burn gas engines have been underway for decades.

Yanmar researchers published a paper in 2008 outlining the result of research into the area.

The challenge was that catalysts required a high operating temperature to activate methane, while some potential catalysts were highly susceptible to sulphur poisoning, which is present in both fuel oil and the lubricating oil used in gas-fuelled engines.

In practical terms, the catalytic converter needs to be located before the turbocharger in order to ensure that the catalysts can maintain operating temperatures above 500 degrees centigrade.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

FOUR-STROKE ENGINES

UK AMMONIA ENGINE STUDY EYES RCS ENGINE CONCEPT An ambitious research project has been launched by the UK to develop ‘disruptive’ engine technology based on the use of ammonia fuel. The initiative gives new momentum to the drive towards a decarbonised marine sector, writes David Tinsley

8 A multi-cylinder prototype based on N2 Power’s Recuperated Split Cycle engine technology is under development

Ultra-low NOx combustion systems will be explored by the 20-strong, UK cross-industry R&D consortium over a five-year period, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Entitled Decarbonised Clean Marine: Green Ammonia Thermal Propulsion (MariNH3), the £5.5m (US$7.2m) endeavour got under way at the beginning of this month (March) under the leadership of the University of Nottingham.

MariNH3 will be conducted by a multi-disciplinary consortium to address the challenges associated with green ammonia, i.e. ammonia produced from renewable sources, for marine applications. Ammonia is regarded as offering the potential to play a significant role as a sustainable future fuel in both advanced and retrofitted engines.

When burned, ammonia turns back into nitrogen and water and does not yield the CO2 that results from fossil fuel combustion. However, the relationship between the fuel’s slow-burning properties and NOx formation needs to be addressed.

The MariNH3 programme, extending to 28 February 2027, seeks to overcome the various technical and economic unknowns and challenges by exploring disruptive NH3 engine concepts capable of high thermal efficiency and ultra-low NOx. The remit of the research partners also embraces consideration of type approval and legislation issues, including risk assessment to support international rule development.

The scope of possible solutions and technologies for retrofitting is deemed to be of central importance given the ‘net zero’ timescales set by legislators and other bodies in relation to the scale of the world merchant fleet and service life longevity of large vessels and marine machinery. An estimated 80% of the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions emanate from deep-sea traders such as bulk carriers, tankers and container ships.

Alongside the University of Nottingham, the partners in MariNH3 include the BMT Group, Lloyd’s Register, RollsRoyce, Cummins Power Generation, Johnson Matthey, the Ricardo Group, MAHLE Powertrain, Dolphin-N2, and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA), plus energy heavyweights BP and Shell.

Salient to MariNH3 objectives, MAHLE’s proprietary Jet Ignition technology is a fast burning combustion system, while Dolphin-N2’s Recuperated Split Cycle (RSC) technology offers possibilities in achieving diesel-like efficiency but with exceptionally low NOx. A single-cylinder proof of concept RSC engine has been running at Brighton University, and the first multi-cylinder prototype is in development.

The fact that the internal combustion engine is the platform for MariNH3 research in the bid to decarbonise commercial shipping reflects the shortcomings of battery electric power as regards practical range, payload and total cost. Electric propulsion, though, is predicted to become the dominant mode in future local and light duty marine transport.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

MARCH 2022 | 15

LNG

HANSHIN DIESEL TO DEVELOP METHANOL-FUELLED 4-STROKE Hanshin Diesel Works among members of Japanese consortium to develop a methanol-fuelled tanker for the Japanese domestic market Japanese engine builder Hanshin Diesel Works is planning to develop a dual fuel low-speed 4-stroke engine capable of operating on methanol as part of a Japanese consortium. The consortium’s members aim to have a ship delivered by 2024.

The consortium includes Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), MOL Coastal Shipping, ship managers Tabuchi Kaiun and Niihama Kaiun, as well as Japanese shipyard Murakami Hide Shipbuilding. The sixth member of the consortium, Hanshin Diesel Works, will develop the engine.

The project will receive public funding through the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Methanol can reduce emissions of SOx by up to 99%, particulate matter by up to 95%, NOx by up to 80%, and CO2 by up to 15%, compared to vessels using conventional fuel oil.

It has been introduced on ocean-going vessels as an environmentally friendly fuel, including four MOL Groupoperated ships, but this will be the first methanol-fuelled ship to serve Japan’s domestic coastal routes.

The companies highlight that methanol can be produced with CO2 and hydrogen as raw material, so in the future, it can be produced by utilising captured CO2 and renewable energy.

Last year, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Methanex Corporation for MOL to acquire a 40% stake in Methanex’s Waterfront Shipping subsidiary. The strategic cooperation agreement is expected to accelerate the commercialisation of methanol as a marine

fuel, as it brings together the world’s leading methanol producer and methanol shipper, with MOL’s vast shipping experience. Waterfront Shipping is also the largest owner of methanol-fuelled shipping in the world, and cooperated with MOL during the construction of the world’s first dual-fuel methanol-fuelled tanker (Taranaki Sun) in 2016.

8 The methanolfuelled Capilano Sun is one of the tankers currently being operated

by MOL

First Japanese battery-hybrid bulker for biomass trade Japanese shipyard Honda Heavy Industries has received an order for a battery-hybrid coastal carrier dedicated to transporting wood pellets to a Japanese power plant.

IHI Motor Co. Ltd was awarded the contract to supply the 71.9-metre long, 499 gross ton vessel’s 500kW generator sets. The vessel will also feature a large Energy Storage System (ESS), which the vessel will use to eliminate exhaust and noise emissions in port. Energy drawn from the ESS will cover the vessel’s load while alongside. Relative to existing tonnage, the incoming vessel is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by around 50%.

The vessel has been ordered by Asahi Tanker and will be operated by Kamigumi Shipping. The vessel will transport wood pellets between the Port of Kobe and the berth at Aioi Power Plant in Kyogo Prefecture. The vessel is scheduled for delivery in April 2023.

The vessel shares certain similarities with

16 | MARCH 2022

8 The order for the battery-hybrid vessel follows the delivery of a full-electric bunker vessel at Koa Sangyo

an electric bunker tanker design developed by e5 Lab. The DC electric power and drive system will be powered by an electrical storage system consisting of 880kWh of Li-Ion batteries. The vessel’s two permanent magnet (PM) motors are connected to the vessel’s twin skeg propulsion.

The vessel will achieve zero-emission operation while operating near to the port, while its operational speed of 10 knots and sailing range will be comparable with

vessels currently in service.

Some of the project participants claim that the wider introduction of electric propulsion vessels into Japan’s coastal transportation routes represents a potential solution to the challenge of meeting the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s ‘carbon neutral port’ objectives.

The unit, which previously generated electricity from fuel oil, was taken offline in April 2018. Unit 2 of Aioi Power Station is scheduled to begin generation in early 2023, following the completion of the conversion of the unit to operate on biomass.

KEPCO earlier demonstrated a corporate commitment to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions emitted from its bulk cargo trading when it signed a cooperation agreement with e5 Lab in October 2020. The current project represents the first collaboration between e5 Lab, the developer of the vessel design, and energy producer KEPCO.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

LNG

RISE OF ALT FUELS TO FOCUS ATTENTION ON PREVENTION

for remote system diagnostics and condition monitoring, resulting in Survitec’s Maritime Protection brand developing and recently introducing a remote support service for its inert gas systems.

The equipment consists of a remote VPN gateway that connects to the inert gas system operator panel via an ethernet cable or Wi-Fi. Through the secure gateway, Survitec fire safety experts can then monitor, operate, adjust, and troubleshoot the system shoreside without having to physically attend the ship.

“We can connect at short notice in case of issues threatening normal operation or to provide training to ship crews. We can help a system operator tune-up the IG system to reduce fuel consumption and increase system stability.

For ship managers it reduces the maintenance spend and reduces lead times substantially when support and assistance is required,” said Lende-Harung. Indeed, following the success of Survitec designed fire system for Yara Birkeland, the world’s first fully autonomous containership, Lende-Harung believes that remote diagnostics and the monitoring of fire safety equipment will become a major factor in the swing towards autonomous shipping.

“Even though a fire onboard an autonomous ship may not directly harm the shoreside crew it still presents a catastrophic risk to the ship, the cargo, the environment,” said Lende-Harung.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

8 Fire-fighting systems and fire tugs struggled for 8 days to contain and extinguish a fire fuelled by the lithium-ion batteries in the electric cars carried onboard the Felicity Ace

8 Survitec’s Maritime Protection system

Credit: Survitec

The potential safety implications of cargoes of electric vehicles has been recognised by classification societies before the recent high-profile fire aboard the Felicity Ace in February 2022.

ABS amended its safety guidance to address firefighting and safety systems in the cargo holds of container vessels to respond to the specific challenges presented by increasing volumes of battery-operated vehicles transported by sea before the incident.

However, the introduction of alternative fuels is also likely to introduce fresh challenges that will need to be addressed if the next generation of sustainable ships are to be safe, according to global Survival Technology specialist Survitec.

Finn Lende-Harung, Commercial Director, Fire Solutions at Survitec explained that while existing fire extinguishing technologies and mediums are highly effective in dealing with gas and methanol-fuelled fires, batteries, ammonia and hydrogen throw up their own challenges.

“The consequence of a fire from these alternative fuels can be substantial as seen in recent accidents both on land and at sea. This requires higher focus on fire prevention through the use of inert gas systems and very early detection of monitoring gas pressures and temperatures,” he said.

The company also acknowledged that the carriage of electric cars and the slow penetration of lithium-ion batteries was creating new challenges.

Rafal Kolodziejski, Head of Product Support and Development – Fire Systems at Survitec, furthered that if there is a fire in a ship’s battery room, boundary cooling could even be an issue given the potentially high temperatures involved.

“At the same time, toxic gases being produced out of battery modules exposed to high temperature and fire is another critical aspect. It creates new barriers for implementing currently available mediums like Novec or other clean agents being used onboard a ship.”

Referring to the fire aboard the Felicity Ace, which sank in March, Kolodziejski said it took more than eight days for firefighting systems (and fire tugs) to contain and extinguish a fire fuelled by the lithium-ion batteries in the electric cars carried onboard.

“Electric car cargoes or containers carrying lithium-ion batteries are a real concern and we are seeing more fires with these types of cargoes, which are very difficult to extinguish,” Kolodziejski said.

Another emergent risk is the influx of substandard spare parts and services. “The separation of the technical from the procurement department is resulting in a greater need for quality assurance and greater controls to ensure components and consumables are from trusted suppliers. This is crucial.”

Kolodziejski referred to several incidents where CO2 hoses, for example, have not been fit for purpose or properly tested, despite certificates and stickers suggesting otherwise. “This is placing people and assets at risk,” he said.

Lende-Harung also revealed that the maritime industry’s response to COVID-19 has seen a “massive surge in demand”

Wikimedia CCS

As international shipments of electric vehicles grow, and alternative fuels appear set to grow in importance, the issue of fire safety is rising up the agenda

MARCH 2022 | 17

LNG

SEABORNE LNG IS SET TO MOVE CENTRE STAGE IN THE EU One of the most profound changes to occur as a result of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict will be the reorientation of natural gas flows globally.

The announcement by EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen that the EU would phase out Russian natural gas imports by 2027 is expected to lead to dramatic reorientation of the continent’s energy import landscape.

The European Commission is expected to present a proposal by May 2022, which will provide further details about how the bloc plans to achieve reductions of Russian natural gas imports of around 66% by the end of 2022.

The EU is expected to respond to the need to rapidly increase natural gas imports by expanding FSRU capacity over the near term, while accelerating the construction of larger capacity LNG import terminals.

However, the sheer scale of Russia’s exports to the European customers suggests that expanding European natural gas import capacity to offset the reduction in Russian gas imports will be hard to achieve within the next year or two.

While the majority of Russia’s natural gas exports to EU customers are supplied via gas pipelines (ranging between 170 billion m³ and 200 billion m³), Russia has also supplied around 20% (close to 24 billion m³) of Europe’s LNG imports in recent years from the Yamal project.

While the majority of attention has naturally focused on how Europe will meet the shortfall in supply once it reduces Russian imports, it is useful to consider the situation from a Russian perspective. Russia is also likely to have an interest in maintaining cross-border gas flows over the near term, as the country’s gas pipeline networks do not conveniently connect with proposed new gas pipelines being built to serve customers in Asia. There is likely to be a delay while the gas pipeline connections towards the proposed Power of Siberia 2 pipeline are built.

The European sanctions are also likely to affect Turkey, which currently hosts a 31.5 billion m³ pipeline, TurkStream.

Russia had allocated close to half of that to customers in the Balkans and Hungary.

Yamal LNG With the EU able to draw upon supplies of seaborne LNG

Credit: Axel Schmidt, Nord Stream 2 2018

The EU’s determination to phase out Russian gas imports by 2027 and deeper Sino-Russian links will transform the seaborne LNG market

from alternative sources, such as the US and the Middle East, it is likely that Russia’s seaborne exports of LNG from Yamal will be diverted towards East Asian markets. The project has tended to supply its output to customers in the EU. While the Northern Sea Route (NSR) is currently used for occasional shipments, following the first successful transit of an LNG cargo aboard the Vladimir Rusanov in June 2018, there is little realistic prospect that year-round transits along the north coast of Russia will become achievable within the near term. The current summer season for specialist iceclass LNG carriers to traverse the NSR in an eastwards direction runs from the end of May to early November.

Seasonal restrictions will restrict the ability to increase export volumes significantly along the NSR.

8 Idling capacity: construction materials for the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline near the landfall at Lubmin, Germany

Sakhalin LNG The Sakhalin LNG project currently supplies the majority of its output to customers in East Asia. At the time of writing, Japan had not yet applied restrictions to Russian imports of LNG, which accounted for almost 10% of Japan’s national gas supply.

China plans to increase gas imports Russia inaugurated the Power of Siberia gas pipeline to China in 2019. The pipeline has a capacity of 38 million m³, compared with annual Chinese import demand of around 220 million m³ of natural gas.

The Russian and Chinese governments reached an agreement on 2 February to expand gas shipments. In early March,

18 | MARCH 2022

Gazprom announced that it was undertaking preliminary work before construction of a 50 million m³ gas pipelines via Mongolia and China’s Xinjiang, Power of Siberia 2, while the capacity of the original Power of Siberia connection is expected to rise to almost 50 million m³.

If several other pipelines that are under

consideration proceed, China’s gas imports from Russia could rise to close to half its annual demand. It is unclear whether China will use the additional import volumes to reduce its reliance upon imported seaborne LNG, much of which is currently supplied by Australia and the US, or to accelerate the closure of its existing coal-fired generation.

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LNG

LNG TRANSITION CREATES A PATHWAY FOR CII COMPLIANCE LNG can take shipping from today all the way to 2050 without having to reinvent the wheel, says Peter Keller, Chairman of SEA-LNG, a multi-sector coalition advocating the benefits of the LNG pathway as a marine fuel The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) is set to shake up the vessel efficiency and emissions clauses in charter party agreements. It is a measure of how efficiently ships transport cargo, measured in grams of CO2 emitted per deadweight ton capacity and nautical mile, and in 2023, vessel operators will be required to provide baseline performance ready to receive initial ratings in 2024. CII thresholds will then tighten annually, requiring operators to document vessel performance and demonstrate compliance.

Analysis from SEA-LNG has found that LNG-fuelled vessels will be able to continue operating as normal under the system until after 2030, while fossil LNG blended with bioLNG or renewable synthetic LNG will further extend compliance to 2050 and beyond.

The analysis compared emissions for two identical 180,000 dwt Capesize vessels, one using conventional, oil-based marine fuels, the other using fossil LNG. The LNG-fuelled vessel immediately rated two grades higher than the conventionally fuelled vessel demonstrating that LNG can be the difference between achieving a ‘moderate’ C-rating and a ‘major superior’ A-rating.

The analysis also showed that for every 10% increase in the content of bioLNG or renewable synthetic LNG used in a blend with fossil LNG, the vessel gains two-years of additional compliance. Thus, a vessel commissioned yesterday, today and in the future can retain a favourable CII rating as major superior A or superior B throughout its lifetime.

The IMO is encouraging port authorities, governments, and other stakeholders to offer incentives for ships with A or B ratings. Meanwhile, leading cargo owners and charterers have recently strongly advocated the use of A or B rated vessels in their supply chains.

Clearly, LNG will offer a competitive advantage to shipowners and operators as charterers prefer engaging the higher-performing A and B rated vessels necessary to meet their own GHG emission reduction commitments. Adding bioLNG and, in due course, renewable synthetic LNG, both fully interchangeable with fossil LNG in LNG-fuelled vessels and bunkering infrastructure, will enable maintenance of this advantageous rating level over the life of the vessel and ensure that owners are not left with stranded assets.

Reduced carbon footprint In our calculations, we used a figure of 20% to represent likely emissions reductions across the broad range of vessel performance. This reduction is a conservative figure, based on analysis undertaken in the 2nd Lifecycle GHG Emissions study, produced by Sphera and commissioned by SEA-LNG and SGMF. It indicated that LNG-fuelled vessels powered by 2-stroke engines can achieve a reduction in their GHG footprint between 20% and 30% on a tank-to-wake basis, when compared with an otherwise identical conventionally fuelled ship. On a well-to-wake basis, LNG can reduce CO2

20 | MARCH 2022

emissions by up to 23% compared to liquid fossil fuels and blending bioLNG and LNG can further improve this figure.

The 2nd Lifecycle GHG Emissions Study also confirmed that, by 2030, methane slip from marine engines will have been virtually eliminated as technological improvements, such as introduction of oxidation catalysts and high-pressure gas injection, continue. The report revisited its 2018/2019 research using the latest available engine and supply chain data including data provided by original equipment manufacturers including Caterpillar MaK, Caterpillar Solar Turbines, GE, MAN Energy Solutions, Rolls Royce (MTU), Wärtsilä, and Winterthur Gas & Diesel, as well as fuel suppliers ExxonMobil, Shell, and Total. Methane emissions from the supply chains as well as methane released during the onboard combustion process were included in the analysis.

8 Peter Keller, Chairman of SEA-LNG

Full compatibility BioLNG as a marine fuel is fully compatible with existing LNG infrastructure and can be transported, bunkered, and stored using technologies currently in use today. It is suitable for immediate use in existing LNG-fuelled vessels. Perhaps more importantly, bioLNG can use existing LNG supply chains without the huge additional infrastructure investment needed by new fuels such as ammonia, methanol, and hydrogen.

Another key yet often less discussed factor when

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

LNG considering new fuels is how they are manufactured. BioLNG is a prime pathway to carbon neutrality as it can be made sustainably from feedstocks such as agricultural and forestry residues and human waste streams. This process can capture methane that would otherwise be vented into the atmosphere, resulting in a fuel that is not just potentially netzero in GHG emissions but net-negative. By reprocessing waste materials, bioLNG can support the circular economy and help with yet another global concern: waste management.

With its many benefits, it is easy to see why biomethane and bioLNG production is on the rise. In July 2021 the European Commission announced investments of some €118million in 32 bioLNG projects, including FirstBio2Shipping which aims to set up the first bioLNG plant working in a standardised and scalable fashion in the Netherlands. In France, container shipper CMA CGM, and energy firm TotalEnergies, have joined forces to embark on a bioLNG production project near Marseilles, expanding the potential availability of the fuel. The European Biogas Association predicts production of the fuel in Europe could increase tenfold by 2030.

The mainstream introduction of bioLNG has already begun, with forward-thinking owners and operators using bioLNG in full or blending it with fossil LNG. In late 2020, TotalEnergies bunkered the CMA CGM Jacques Saadé at Rotterdam, and some 13% of the 17,300m3 of LNG supplied was bioLNG. A month later, UECC bunkered the Auto Energy with drop-in bioLNG, while Gasum has bunkered ESL Shipping’s dry bulk carrier Viikki with 100% renewable bioLNG in Finland.

‘‘

BioLNG as a marine fuel is fully compatible with existing LNG infrastructure and can be transported, bunkered, and stored using technologies currently in use today. It is suitable for immediate use in existing LNG-fuelled vessels No time to wait At SEA-LNG, we see there is no time to wait in reducing shipping’s impact on greenhouse gas emissions. We are not alone. The number of LNG-fuelled newbuildings on order has accelerated dramatically to over 30% of gross tonnage.

This is a clear demonstration that many in the industry agree that LNG offers the simplest and lowest risk transition to zero-emissions for the maritime sector, offering clear compliance and commercial benefits, starting now.

References https://www.mynewsdesk.com/furetank/pressreleases/ furetank-secures-biogas-supply-as-step-towards-fossil-freeshipping-3161279 https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2293773-ship-orderbooksuggests-more-lng-bunker-usage https://gtt.fr/news/gtt-alwena-shipping-and-chi-zhoushan-receiveapproval-principle-bureau-veritas-new-retrofit

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

MARCH 2022 | 21

FUTURE FUELS

MAN EXTENDS THE RANGE OF ME-LGIM OPTIONS IN PORTFOLIO MAN Energy Solutions has announced plans to extend the choice of mid-range options available to shipowners by introducing S60, G60 and G70 variants into its ME-LGIM programme The company shared the news that it was adding the options to its engine programme in a customer briefing in February. The design schedules for the 60-bore versions are expected to be available from Q2 2024.

The decision to extend the engine programme followed shortly after the company announced the addition of a G80 option in December 2021. The G80 solution was intended to allow MAN Energy Solutions to address demand from 7,0008,000 teu container ships, as well as from very large crude carriers and large bulkers.

The decision to extend the engine programme reflects increased demand for methanol options from different vessel segments. “While the [Maersk] order for 8 x 16,200 teu container ships [powered by] G95 methanol engines sparked interest in 2021, we have seen increasing interest since, not only from container ships, but also from bulk carrier segments, tankers, Ro-Ros and PCTC vessels.”

The introduction of 60-bore and 70-bore variants meant that MAN ES would cover the entire range of necessary layout points for ship designers to include a methanol engine in almost any ship type above 1,000 teu.

Pilot fuel injection One of the major areas of focus during the development of ME-LGIM engine has been the reduction in the environmental impact of emissions connected with pilot fuel injection.

One of the characteristics of methanol is that it has weaker ignitability than conventional fuels. However, MAN has focused significant attention on optimising pilot fuel consumption, as Peter Quaade, Head of Dual Fuel Technology explained to The Motorship in August 2021.

Kjeld Abo, Director New Technologies, MAN Energy Solutions, outlined the importance of emissions produced by pilot fuel injection in a ME-LGIM engine.

“If we compare an engine operating on methanol with heavy fuel oil, we will have a reduction of 30 to 50% in NOx, 90 to 97% SOx, 90% in particulates and 10% in CO2. If we operated a vessel on green methanol or bio methanol, the CO2 reduction would be 90 to 95%.”

Abo noted that the remaining 5-10% of CO2 emissions were attributable to the engine’s pilot oil consumption. “This means that if we substituted biofuel for the pilot oil, we would actually have a 100% CO2 neutral engine. I think this is a very exciting possibility if we consider the future.”

One of the routes to achieving the emissions reductions was the water-in-methanol (LGIM-W) abatement solution.

The solution offered a comparatively competitive means of achieving Tier III compliance, but was not being offered as an option for all the engines in the ME-LGIM portfolio. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) or other abatement technologies were available for other engines.

Commercial interest Before 2021, commercial interest in operating vessels on methanol was largely limited to the methanol carrier and

22 | MARCH 2022

product carrier markets. Over 14 50-bore ME-LGIM engines are in service, and the engine type has accumulated over 120,000 running hours operating on methanol alone.

The situation has since transformed, with MAN receiving a spate of orders from small-size container vessels and larger container vessels in 2021. Thomas Hansen noted that, taking dual-fuel engines as a whole, dual-fuel engines accounted for 32% of all engine orders received by MAN ES by capacity in 2021. “We had forecast that dual-fuel engine orders would rise to 60% of orders by 2030, but we are now looking to revise up that forecast,” Hansen added.

Hansen concluded by turning his attention to the potential retrofit market. While MAN Energy Solutions has 22,000 MAN B&W two-stroke engines in service, only 3,500 of those engines were modern fully electronic ME-C type engines which could be converted to dual-fuel operation. “We assess that approximately 2,300 out of those 3,500 engines are candidates for dual-fuel conversion,” Hansen said, adding that just converting those engines would result in annual saving of 86 million tonnes of CO2.

8 Six-, seven-, eight- and nine-cylinder 80mm-bore versions of MAN Energy solutions’ methanol-fuelled LGIM engine offer an alternative to gas-fuelled MEGI engines to propel future VLOCs and VLCCs

X-Press Feeders order swells order book Thomas Hansen, Head of Promotion and Customer Support, 2-Stroke at MAN Energy Solutions confirmed that the company had been awarded the contract to supply 16 MAN B&W S50 ME-LGIM engines capable of operating on conventional fuel or methanol. The engines have been ordered by Chinese shipyards New Dayang Shipbuilding and Ningbo Xinle Shipbuilding in China in connection with an order for 16 1,150 teu container feeders placed by X-Press Feeders. The order was announced by the Singapore-based feeder operator in November 2021, and the first vessels are expected to enter service by Q4 2023. The final vessels in the order should be completed by Q4 2024.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

Posidonia 6 -10 June 2022

Metropolitan Expo, Athens Greece

www.posidonia-events.com

FUTURE FUELS

STANDALONE CCS SYSTEM FOR DUAL-FUEL VESSELS BG Freight Line is installing Value Maritime's Filtree exhaust gas cleaning and carbon capture system onboard two of its containerships chartered from shipowner HS Schiffahrt BG Onyx and BG Ruby are expected to be retrofitted this summer with Value Maritime’s exhaust gas cleaning system which includes a carbon capture module. Once the installation is complete, the vessels will continue to trade in North-West Europe and will use Value Maritime outlets across the region to return the CO2 to shore so it can be reused on land.

The integrated CO2 module can capture 90% of the CO2 in the vessels’ exhaust, but the percentage of CO2 the owner/ charterer wishes to capture is their choice. The captured CO2 is chemically bound to a carrier material and is stored at ambient pressure and temperature in patented CO2 batteries the size of 20-foot shipping containers. Once the vessel is docked, the full CO2 batteries are replaced with empty ones for the next voyage.

“The battery can be offloaded and re-used to facilitate the growth of flowers and other crops or used to enrich future fuels such as methanol for dual-fuelled vessels. Especially in combination with the production of methanol, we see that our Filtree contributes to the circular use of CO2 and therefore reduces emissions drastically,” says Christiaan Nijst, Director & Co-Founder at Netherlands-based Value Maritime.

The company’s first installation was on Visser Shipping’s Nordica containership in October 2021, making it the first vessel to capture and store CO2 onboard whilst in operation. Bureau Veritas granted the relevant approvals for the system. The Nordica has two CO2 batteries onboard which store enough CO2 to reduce the ship’s carbon emissions by 70%. The vessel is operated by X-Press Feeders and is performing optimally, says Nijst.

The Filtree system is one-third the size of a conventional scrubber, and Nijst says shipowners can earn back their investment in 1-2.5 years by running on heavy fuel oil (HFO) rather than VLSFO and by offering customers the option of reducing CO2 emissions in their supply chains and setting a premium on that service. Charging companies upstream to reduce shipping-related emissions could be more effective than purchasing carbon offsets which vary in reliability and effectiveness, he says.

“Our unique technology offers the best of both worlds – vessel owners/charterers can save money and reduce CO2 at a competitive price per tonne of CO2 as much as they or their customers choose. A valuable green and financial dividend, it increases the competitiveness of a vessel by reducing its environmental footprint and lowering OPEX.” Koert Luitwieler, CEO of BG Freight Line, appreciates the ease of installation of the system: “Value Maritime’s technology offers us an immediate and sustainable solution to reducing our carbon emissions while keeping our vessels commercially competitive and sailing with virtually no disruption to our trading.”

The Filtree system is suitable for all ship types, for

24 | MARCH 2022

newbuilding or retrofit, and is suitable for engine sizes between 2.0 and 15.0 MW, including engines running on LNG or methanol. It includes a compact, plug-and-play exhaust gas cleaning system that filters sulphur as well as ultra-fine particulate matter. The wash water is filtered and pH neutralised before discharge.

“Our Filtree system includes the integrated carbon capture feature, it’s a combined system,” says Nijst. “However, the sulphur scrubber can be used without the CO2 capture unit. As conventional scrubbers do not clean the exhaust gasses to the extent of the Filtree, it is not possible to combine our CO2 capture unit with a conventional scrubber.”

The system can be moved from one vessel to another so that shipowners can invest in emissions-reduction technology without committing to a specific fuel or vessel type. The captured CO2 could eventually be used to produce e-methanol to form a more closed-loop system onboard.

Value Maritime is already signing contracts for newbuilds of various sizes. Some of these newbuilds will be LNG fuelled and thus will only use the carbon capture element. Other newbuilds will use the entire system, initially sailing on HFO, and once green methanol is available they will be capable of switching to the circular use of CO2.

Value Maritime is currently expanding its CO2 services within Europe and to Asia and North America. “We are geographically growing the company, and we are in the process of arranging CO2 outlets for our customers worldwide,” says Nijst. “We are also building a network of CO2 battery hubs where CO2 batteries can be loaded and unloaded.”

8 Circular Economy: Value Maritime’s patented Carbon Capture Module chemically binds captured CO2 to a carrier material and stores it in patented CO2 batteries

‘‘

Our Filtree system includes the integrated carbon capture feature, it’s a combined system For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

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FUTURE FUELS

GREEN METHANOL SUPPLY RISE TO PICK UP AFTER 2025 A.P. Moller - Maersk has entered into strategic partnerships with six companies with the intent of sourcing at least 730,000 tonnes/year of green methanol by end of 2025

8 In addition to methanol from existing production facilities, such as Pampa in Texas, Proman is evaluating multiple bio-methanol and e-methanol projects in South America, Europe and the UK

The six companies are CIMC ENRIC, European Energy, Green Technology Bank, Orsted, Proman, and WasteFuel.

With this production capacity, by the end of 2025 at the latest, Maersk will reach well beyond the green methanol needed for the first 12 green 16,000 teu container vessels currently on order. Once fully developed these projects of both bio- and e-methanol will enable Maersk to source green methanol at scale across several regions around the globe.

“To transition towards decarbonisation, we need a significant and timely acceleration in the production of green fuels. Green methanol is the only market-ready and scalable available solution today for shipping. Production must be increased through collaboration across the ecosystem and around the world. That is why these partnerships mark an important milestone to get the transition to green energy underway,” said Henriette Hallberg Thygesen CEO of Fleet & Strategic Brands, A.P. Moller - Maersk.

CIMC ENRIC will develop bio-methanol projects for Maersk in China. The phase one project will have a capacity to produce 50,000 tonnes/year of green methanol, starting in 2024. The second phase of the project will have a capacity produce of 200,000 tonnes/year with start date to be determined. The feedstock for the bio-methanol will be agricultural residues.

Maersk intends to offtake the full volume produced.

European Energy is a global renewable energy company and project developer (wind, solar and Power to X). It develops, builds, and operates renewable electricity projects globally with a pipeline consisting of 20 GW renewable energy capacity. European Energy will produce e-methanol for Maersk´s first green feeder vessel, which is expected to be on the water by 2023. The company will also develop e-methanol projects in Latin America and the United States that will have a capacity to produce up to 200-300,000 tonnes annually of e-methanol starting in 2025/2026. Maersk intends to offtake the full volume produced on long-term contracts to help its customers realize their own ambitious emission targets.

26 | MARCH 2022

Green Technology Bank (GTB) was established in 2016 by the Chinese government with the priority task to fulfill the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. GTB will facilitate development of bio-methanol projects in China together with project developers to be identified. The first project is planned to have a capacity to produce 50,000 tonnes/year starting from 2024, and the second project is planned to have a capacity to produce 300,000 tonnes/year at a start date to be determined. The green methanol produced will rely entirely on resources available in China.

Orsted aims at becoming a global leader within Power-to-X and currently has a development pipeline of 11 projects across several hard-to-abate sectors. Partnering with Maersk, Orsted will develop an e-methanol project in the US that will have a capacity to produce 300,000 tonnes/year starting 2025. Maersk intends to offtake the full volume produced.

“The maritime industry faces a chicken-and-egg challenge, where the supply and demand of green fuels will have to evolve in parallel to fast ensure a sustainable development of zero emission fuels. Orsted is very pleased to partner with A.P. Moller - Maersk to address this challenge by scaling green fuel production together with an industry leader in the maritime sector,” said Martin Neubert, Deputy CEO and Chief Commercial Officer at Orsted.

Proman is an integrated energy company and the world’s second largest methanol producer. The company will aim to supply Maersk with 100,000 – 150,000 tonnes/year of green methanol from its in-development facility in North America.

The project will be built by Proman with target start of operations in 2025, producing bio-methanol from nonrecyclable forestry residues and municipal solid waste.

WasteFuel is a California-based start-up addressing the climate emergency by transforming unrecovered waste into sustainable fuels using proven technologies. The company is developing a bio-methanol project in South America that will produce over 30,000 tons per year starting in 2024. Maersk intends to offtake the full volume produced.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

FUTURE FUELS

CHEVRON TARGETS HARD-TO-ABATE SECTORS Renewable Energy Group operates 11 biorefineries in the U.S. and Europe and in 2021, produced 480 million gallons delivering 4.1 million metric tons of carbon reduction.

After closing of the acquisition, Chevron’s renewable fuels business, Renewable Fuels - REG, will be headquartered in Ames, Iowa. The $3.15 billion transaction will combine REG’s growing renewable fuels production and feedstock capabilities with Chevron’s large manufacturing, distribution and commercial marketing position.

Chevron reaffirmed its targets to lower the carbon intensity of its operations and grow new energy business lines in renewable fuels, hydrogen, carbon capture and offsets.

“Chevron’s new energy businesses are making progress towards our 2030 goals,” said Jeff Gustavson, president of Chevron New Energies. “We’re bringing our unique capabilities, in partnership with others, to advance lower carbon energy solutions that target harder-to-abate sectors and deliver competitive returns.”

Speaking at a presentation for investors in February, Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth said: “Our marine customers are looking for solutions. Our aviation customers are looking for solutions. Our rail customers are looking for solutions. These are big segments of the economy. These are big consumers of energy. And particularly when you talk marine and rail, these are big consumers of distillate products today that are not easily electrified. And this is a market that can continue to grow as large entities have made their own low carbon energy transition type commitments on emission reductions. And we intend to work along the value chain all the way out to these end-use customers to find a way to help them achieve their goals.”

‘‘

With the larger, slower-moving high power engines of marine and rail, biodiesel is actually a preferred molecule over renewable diesel, especially in marine CJ Warner, REG president & CEO, said: “With the larger, slower-moving high power engines of marine and rail, biodiesel is actually a preferred molecule over renewable diesel, especially in marine. And this is an emerging market where that sector is just starting to decarbonise. So, it's definitely an additional outlet for customers to watch for biodiesel demand.”

Biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester or FAME) is an ester created by transesterification of oils and fats which is then blended with petroleum diesel, whereas renewable diesel (hydrotreated vegetable oil or HVO) is produced by hydrotreatment of fats. This removes impurities resulting in a fuel with the same composition as fossil diesel.

Credit: REG

Chevron has accelerated progress toward its goal to increase renewable fuels production capacity to 100,000 barrels per day by 2030 with the acquisition of Renewable Energy Group (REG).

Earlier this year, REG entered into an agreement with Bunker Holding Group to further develop the U.S. and EU marine markets for sustainable bio-based diesel. The agreement is initially focused on opportunities in North America and Europe. For REG, the agreement continues its efforts to expand product offerings with further reach into the approximately 70 billion gallon, or 230 million metric tons, global marine market.

REG is currently in the process of expanding its REG Geismar production facility. The project will take total site production capacity from 90 million gallons per year to 340 million gallons per year. REG Geismar was the first renewable diesel production facility in the U.S. and was acquired by REG in 2014. The project will involve upgrades to the existing site, as well as expansion to an adjacent site. Improvements will include enhanced marine logistics that will enable global trading of feedstocks and fuel. The company announced that the estimated project cost is $950 million and is expected to be fully operational in 2024.

Meanwhile, Chevron has agreed to create a joint venture with Bunge North America to create renewable feedstocks leveraging Bunge’s expertise in oilseed processing and farmer relationships. Bunge’s soybean processing plants in Louisiana and Illinois will be contributed to the joint venture while Chevron will contribute approximately $600 million in cash.

Plans include approximately doubling the combined capacity of these facilities from 7,000 tons per day by the end of 2024. The joint venture may also explore opportunities in other renewable feedstocks, as well as in feedstock pretreatment. Under the agreements, Bunge will operate the facilities; Chevron will have purchase rights for the oil to use as a renewable feedstock to manufacture transportation fuels with lower lifecycle carbon intensity.

“I believe Chevron is well positioned for the future with a leading traditional energy business and faster-growing new energy business lines,” said Wirth at a recent investor presentation.

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

8 Renewable Fuels had focused on expanding the U.S. and EU markets for sustainable bio-diesel

MARCH 2022 | 27

FUTURE FUELS

SAFETY AT HEART OF NEW CCS ALT FUEL STANDARDS The China Classification Society (CCS) is not only studying such alternative fuels, but also analysing their impact on ship design and safely Shipping greenhouse gas emissions rose by 4.9% in 2021 to 833 million tonnes compared with 794 million in 2020 and 800 million in 2019, according to a recent report by UK broker Simpson Spence & Young. The rise was attributed to a recovering world economy, increased services demands, faster steaming speeds, longer trade routes and port congestion. The report described the increase as an ‘inconvenient truth’ for the IMO. Founded in 1956 and today with a serviced fleet of over 32,000 vessels, CCS started looking at cleaner alternative fuels in 2008.

“Such fuels are the fundamental path for the shipping industry to achieve low-carbon transition,” explained Luo Xiaofeng, director of the CCS Rules & Research Institute in Wuhan. “But since alternative marine fuels’ development prospects are affected by factors such as countries’ energy and resource abilities; international policies and regulations; production technologies; and emission reduction effects, the industry has different views on the path to a low or zerocarbon transition.

“In order to ensure that ships, which typically have a 20 to 25 years operating life, maintain their long-term market adaptability and ability to meet likely future regulatory requirements, CCS is actively trying to find those fuels for the future. We are doing that, however, by applying strict technical standards and practices to ensure their safe use.”

Risks As Luo Xiaofeng noted, due to significant differences in both the physical and chemical properties of alternative fuels as against traditional fuel oil, new risks may arise in fuel bunkering, storage, supply and utilisation aboard ships.

“Based on the special properties of differing alternative fuels, CCS has conducted analysis and evaluations of those potential risks aboard ships and proposed safety requirements and risk control measures covering ship design and arrangement; fuel storage and supply; power plants and electrical equipment; ventilation systems; fire protection; and control and monitoring systems.

“As a result, we’ve developed a series of rules and guidelines covering the use of different alternative fuels aboard ships. For example, and in conjunction with [cryogenic equipment specialists] Zhangjiagang CIMC Sanctum, CCS has conducted safety tests on the cold box of LNG storage tanks. The objective was to assess and verify the risk of accumulation from a cold box LNG leak under continuous ventilation conditions.

“Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software,” Luo Xiaofeng continued, “we’ve also assessed the diffusion range of alternative fuels and vapour in different leakage scenarios, and how the design of the drip tray capacity at bunkering stations can be optimised. Additionally, using the FLame ACceleration Simulator (FLACS) CFD software, CCS has conducted quantitative assessments of leakage risks in high-pressure hydrogen storage spaces and can provide optimal design suggestions for such spaces, along with the ventilation system.”

28 | MARCH 2022

Turning to alternative fuels such as methanol and ammonia, Luo Xiaofeng pointed out that they can have corrosion and swelling effects on some metal and non-metal materials, while hydrogen has the problem of embrittlement.

“CCS has carried out material compatibility studies for these alternative fuels, and specified the types of metal and non-metal materials that are applicable and nonapplicable.

Our ‘Guidelines for Ships Using Methyl/Ethyl Alcohol Fuels’ specify that fuel pipes should not be manufactured from materials sensitive to methyl/ethyl alcohol and provides a list of various compatible materials. The guidelines also advise that fuel tank coatings should be resistant to methyl/ ethyl alcohol and vapours.

“Turning to hydrogen, CCS’ ‘Guidelines for Ships Using Fuel Cell Power Installations’ specify the material requirements for components and equipment. Hydrogen cylinder materials should meet the requirements of international standards, national standards and industry standards for gas cylinder products, while hydrogen fuel pipes should be seamless and made from austenitic stainless steel. If pipelines’ design pressure is greater than, or equal to, 20 megapascals, higher performance stainless steel – such as S31603 and S31608 – should be used.”

8 Yuan Rui Yang world's first dual fuel VLCC 3

Environment and Crew Safety Given that using alternative fuels is the only way for the shipping industry to achieve carbon neutrality, CCS has also paid special attention to their potential environmental impacts and human injury risks.

“For example, we’ve studied LNG’s methane (CH4) slip, a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG),” Luo Xiaofeng commented.

“We’ve also looked at the nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions – another strong GHG – from ammonia fuel, along with its serious toxicity, plus unregulated emissions such as methanol and formaldehyde – a known carcinogen – from methanol fuel.

“Because of its advantages, such as a mature industrial chain, lower costs, and both NOx and SOx reductions, LNG

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

FUTURE FUELS has been widely adopted as a marine fuel. With the progress of GHG emissions reduction, however, CO2 emissions are being continuously strengthened. More attention is also being paid to other GHGs, including CH4, that pose a severe challenge to the environmental benefits and sustainability of LNG as a marine fuel. Whether effective measures can be taken to control methane slip is a key factor determining LNG’s development prospects in shipping’s low-carbon transition. So what can we do?

“The amount of methane slip varies depending on the type of engine,” Luo Xiaofeng explained. “The average level of LNG’s methane slip is about: 8 4g/kWh for four-stroke pure gas fuel engines 8 6g/kWh for low-pressure four-stroke dual-fuel engines 8 3g/kWh for low-pressure two-stroke dual-fuel engines, and 8 0.01g /kWh for high-pressure two-stroke dual-fuel engines.

“In general, the CO2 emission reduction potential of LNG is about 25%. If the impact of methane slip is considered, its GHG reduction potential can still reach more than 10%.

“There are two main methods of reducing methane slip from gas engines: in-cylinder techniques and after treatment technologies. Over the past decade, gas engines’ average methane slip level has been reduced by over 50% through the application of in-cylinder techniques. In the face of increasingly stringent emission standard limits, however, simply using in-cylinder techniques is unlikely to be sufficient.

The industry needs to carry out research and development (R&D) of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), methane oxidation catalysis (MOC), and other after treatment technologies to further reduce methane slip.

“At present, there are mature EGR solutions for lowpressure two-stroke gas engines that can reduce methane slip by about 50%. CCS is also collaborating with some engine manufacturers to carry out key technology research and prototype development of MOC for marine gas engines. CCS believes that the development of after treatment technology will effectively solve the problem of methane slip, and promote the further development of LNG fuel on ships.”

Research and Development The study of alternative marine fuels is a systematic project that requires co-operation between stakeholders across oss the industrial chain, along with maritime authorities, research search institutions, universities and others, Luo Xiaofeng notes. s.

“As a third-party institution, CCS actively collaborates es with all such bodies in order to build an integrated platform orm for production, education, research and application. Based sed on this platform, our research work has achieved many important results and effectively promoted progress ess in applying alternative marine fuels.

fuelled VLCC developed by COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation Co. together with Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. That followed an AIP for COSCO’s design scheme for a methanol-fuelled pulp vessel 8 For both COSCO and the China Yangtze Shipping Group.

CCS has researched an action plan of carbon peak and carbon neutralisation 8 Working with the world's largest lithium battery supplier, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., we’ve jointly researched and developed a marine lithium battery lifecycle safety and health system.

“Turning to engine manufacturers and research institutes, with the former including WeiChai, Yuchai, and Zichai, we’ve worked on the technical development and product certification of both LNG and methanol engines. As to the latter: 8 Plan approval and survey of a hydrogen fuel cell power plant for China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s 712 Research Institute, providing technical services for the R&D of China's first inland hydrogen-fuelled ship. With 712, we’ve also carried out R&D of a methanol-fuelled mediumspeed engine 8 Joint R&D of a large, ammonia-fuelled low-speed marine engine with China Shipbuilding Power Engineering Institute 8 Joint research on zero-carbon synthetic fuels, such as synthetic methanol (‘liquid sunshine’) with Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics and the Chinese Academy of Science 8 A joint assessment on life cycle emissions of marine fuels with Sinopec Research Institute of Petroleum Processing.

“Finally, turning to universities, CCS has carried out the following: 8 Joint research on hydrogen, lithium battery and fuel cell onboard application technology with Tsinghua University 8 Pilot applications and the joint development of a methanol engine with Tianjin University 8 Basic research on ammonia as a fuel with Xiamen University, and 8 Joint research on LNG and its application aboard ships with Wuhan University of Technology.

“CCS remains highly active in all matters pertaining to alternative marine fuels,” Luo Xiaofeng concluded, “and doubtless further important R&D results will follow in the coming years.”

8 Luo Xiaofeng, the Director of CCS Rules & Research Institute in Wuhan

“For example, under the aegis of the China Maritime Safety Administration, we’ve developed a series of alternative ve fuel regulations covering LNG, hydrogen, methanol, ammonia, monia, and others. Working with major shipping lines and other enterprises, CCS has achieved the following: 8 Signed three co-operation agreement frameworks ks with Maersk to jointly carry out studies on life-cycle e GHG emissions from green methanol, green ammonia, and on the technical feasibility, economic feasibility and market feasibility of their application aboard ships 8 With COSCO we’ve carried out both a hazard d and operability study and hazard identification assessment ent of a design scheme for an ammonia-fuelled VLCC. We’ve ve also e (AIP) recently issued the first Approval in Principle certificate for the ship type design of a methanoll dual-

For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

MARCH 2022 | 29

FUELS & LUBRICATION

GLYCEROL IS A PROMISING BASE FOR SUSTAINABLE LUBRICANTS Speaking at the 23rd International Colloquium Tribology in January 2022, Dr Roland Larsson of Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, highlighted the potential of glycerol as a new, sustainable lubricant base

8 The high performance of mineral oil-based lubricants’ lubricant film properties will be challenging

Currently over 1.5m3 of lubricant is manufactured per second around the world. In most cases, crude oil is used as the lubricant base. It provides appropriate viscosity at reasonable cost, and it is available in large quantities.

However, there are some drawbacks with oil. It is flammable, difficult to clean, slow to degrade, and toxic to some plants and animals. It has been estimated that approximately 50% of all lubricants sold worldwide end up in the environment via total loss applications, volatility, spills or accidents.

A rethink of petroleum-based lubricants is required, because they are not sustainable. Base stocks will slowly disappear, and their cost may become prohibitive. Customers may no longer wish to buy fossil products, and legislation may stop them from using them.

Therefore, the need for fossil-free lubricants will increase in the future. The need for sustainability will make it necessary to find new products, and so a new optimal lubricant formulation will be required.

When considering a new lubricant base, tribologists need to consider the tribo-optimisation of the whole system – not just the lubricant itself. Performance must be balanced between performance and cost, and sustainability or circularity is now an unavoidable goal. This may mean that, initially at least, sustainability becomes more important to what is optimal than price or performance.

30 | MARCH 2022

Finding a new optimum for lubricant performance may therefore initially result in lower performance or higher costs as design strategies mature. For example, a more robust component may have a slightly higher weight, so energy consumption during manufacturing and operation will increase. This might be acceptable if the component doesn’t need replacement or if it can be reused. Both suppliers and customers aim for “eternal service life” but an optimal design may not be “design to the limit” and this creates milder triboconditions for a new lubrication to endure.

What are the options for renewable lubricant bases? We could re-condition oils, or find bio-based oils (rapeseed, sunflower), or other fossil-free alternatives, including water.

We could use coatings and surface treatments instead of lubrication. But, why not do what has been done in the paint industry for many years? That is, use water-based or watersoluble lubricants.

One advantage of water-based lubricants is that there are many biomass base stock candidates to choose from. Water solubility also makes them easier to disperse in ground and water and makes it easier to keep surfaces and machines clean.

For myself and my colleagues in Division of Machine Elements at Luleå, Dr Marcus Björling, Dr Yijun Shi, and Dr Anders Pettersson, glycerol (C3H8O3) is a promising choice. It is non-toxic, water soluble, odourless, colourless, and

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FUELS & LUBRICATION generally obtained from renewable plant and animal sources where it occurs as triglycerides. It is fire-resistant if mixed with 10-20% water, and the addition of water changes the freezing point so that a wide range of viscosities can be achieved.

By adding different amounts of water, the viscosity of glycerol can be tuned to any viscosity between pure water (1 mPas) to pure glycerol (1400 mPas). Normal lubricants are around 10-300 mPas (depending on temperature), so the viscosities widely in use today can easily be achieved. Mixing water with glycerol also lowers the pour point. With some 30% water, it can be lowered to -50oC or lower.

Glycerol has a density if 1261 kg/m3 (compared to oil’s 900kg/m3). It has a melting point of 17.8°C and a boiling point of 290°C. Viscosity is 1.412 Pas @ 20°C, and heat capacity is approximately 2400 J/kg/K. It has a thermal conductivity of 0.28 W/m/K (compared to oil’s 0.15W/m/K) and a pressureviscosity of 4.7 GPa-1 (compared to oil’s 18GPa-1). Its bulk modulus is 4.5 GPa (compared to 1.3 for oil and 2.2 for water).

Glycerol’s antimicrobial and antiviral properties mean it is widely used in wound and burn treatments. It is also widely used as a sweetener in the food industry (additive E422) and as a humectant in pharmaceutical formulations.

One interesting and already commercially available source of glycerol is waste from bio-diesel production. One kilogram of glycerol is generated for every 10kg of bio-diesel produced.

Biodiesel production has grown, and as glycerol is a waste by-product from that production, suddenly, we had much more glycerol available. It is even cheaper than oil sometimes.

If glycerol is so promising, why hasn't it been used before now? One main reason is the vast availability of oils. Oils are cheap and are produced in large amounts, and they are good lubricants. So, industry has got used to them, and as lubricants are normally just there to make a machine function, nobody is inspired to change something that actually works well and can be trusted. But if oil cannot be used due to legislation, cost, environment, and sustainability, we run into a problem, and glycerol could be one important solution.

There will be challenges for tribologists to solve as we explore the potential of glycerol-based lubricants.

Surfactants will be required, as will rust inhibitors and antifoaming agents. All these additives will need to be non-toxic and renewable, like the glycerol base they will be added to.

Glycerol has three times lower friction than rapeseed oil and five times lower friction than mineral oil. This will create engineering challenges that could be compensated for by making surfaces smoother. One important feature of glycerol and other water-based lubricants is that they do not have the same pressure-thickening effect as mineral oils. A mineral oil becomes extremely viscous (or even solid) when it experiences the extreme contact pressures found in a rolling bearing or in a gearbox. For friction, that is an advantage for glycerol. If you can maintain full separation of the surfaces, you then also get much lower friction than for an oil, as much as five times lower.

On the other hand, keeping surfaces apart from each other becomes trickier, since oil’s pressure-thickening effect helps to form a good lubricant film, separating the surfaces.

Glycerol only achieves half the film thickness of oils. It may be necessary to increase its nominal viscosity and make the fluid 2.5 times thicker from the start. Another option is to make the components bigger, although this is a problematic option, of course.

New water-soluble additive technology would be required for glycerol to satisfy boundary lubrication requirements.

Otherwise, the surface irregularities come into contact with each other and wear may occur.

Tribo-chemistry has evolved over a long time to produce

the additives we have today for oil-based lubricants. (Oil additives been developed over 100 years with enormous budgets.) These compounds interact with surfaces and form protective layers that lower the wear rate and the friction when surfaces are in contact with each other. Similar additives are being developed for glycerol, but that journey has only just started. Therefore, this is a future research area of great importance.

Glycerol-water mixtures are not good for high-temperature applications such as engines, because the water will evaporate. However, they would work well for hydraulic systems onboard ships and perhaps for many of the rotating parts, especially those that may leak lubricant to the water, including stern tube bearings and propeller shaft bearings.

Additionally, any total loss application is suitable for the glycerol including saw-chain lubricants, rail lubricants, and cutting fluids.

At Luleå, will continue to improve glycerol’s performance under more severe conditions, including its boundary lubrication properties. At the moment, we are learning about its performance for gearboxes. We believe we can reduce lubricant losses in the gear, but we need to watch out for the potentially higher risk of wear, pitting, or scuffing. We are also working to develop a good hydraulic fluid that can be used in mobile machines that operate in sensitive environments such as forestry, marine, and farming.

When mineral oils can no longer be used as lubricants, we will see many different alternatives emerge. Natural oils will be used. Synthetic oils will be made, even electro-fluids (oils made from a carbon source and a green hydrogen source).

These alternatives are still very expensive, making glycerol particularly promising.

Tribologists are facing a very exciting future!

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8 New watersoluble additive technology would be required for glycerol to satisfy boundary lubrication requirements

8 Roland Larsson

MARCH 2022 | 31

FUELS & LUBRICATION

TIME TO RETHINK OPTIMISATION OF LUBRICANTS Industry’s focus on reducing GHG emissions paves the way for the development of environmentally friendly lubricants and a new strategy to reduce friction at a time when traditional oil-based lubricant development has achieved high enough performance to stifle further innovation, says Prof. Dr Denis Mazuyer, a professor in tribology at the École Centrale de Lyon, France It’s an opportunity, he says, to develop new lubricants and new surfaces. Through the IMOTEP project, Mazuyer works on the development of both oil-based and promising environmentally-friendly water-based lubricants with the ultimate aim of improving energy dissipation due to friction.

IMOTEP (Clean Engine Innovation) is a project funded by the French agency for the environment and energy management (Ademe) in collaboration with manufacturers such as HEF, PSA, and Total. Underway since 2017, the participants conduct research by coupling new coatings, new surface patterns and new lubricating molecules formulation to improve the efficiency of internal combustion engines used in cars and of any other mechanical components.

Water-based lubricants typically combine water with compounds such as polymers that act as surfactants. Water has a cooling effect within the lubricant, so the performance of a machine or component can sometimes be enhanced by operating at higher temperatures. Generally, though, the different properties of water compared to traditional oilbased lubricants means their performance needs to be enhanced. The aim is to reduce friction and therefore control energy dissipation in, for example, engine components.

“Usually, hydrocarbon lubricants can support very high pressures due to their high viscosity – sometimes up to 30,000 times that of ambient pressure. With water, that’s not possible,” says Mazuyer. “If we want to move to sustainable lubricants based on water, we have to change the process to enable water to support these very high pressures. We can use polymers to form surface layers to help achieve that.”

Another aspect of tribology that holds promise for enhancing the performance of water-based lubricants is surface texturing. Through the university’s Laboratory of Tribology and System Dynamics, Mazuyer is able to use laser surface texture techniques to create effects at the nano scale, effects often based on biomimicry of properties found in nature. He is also able to map the impact of those surfaces at that scale – which essentially equates to the size of individual large polymer molecules.

“This is one of the very important challenges in tribology. If you want to see or control the effects of surface texturing on the friction force and friction dissipation, you have to change the surface at scales much finer than micrometres. That’s why we have developed new experimental techniques and new models and simulations to explore lubricant performance at the nanoscale.”

The laboratory, which has been building research capability for 30 years, is able to support lubricant development at pressures and velocities suitable for a wide range of applications, including marine engines and other shipboard equipment. The laboratory includes elastohydrodynamic machine that operates at high pressure and enables chemical analysis of the contact between surface and lubricant.

Mazuyer notes that the equipment he uses is capable of

32 | MARCH 2022

taking laboratory-scale developments to industrial or semiindustrial scale testing. Varying speed over 11 decades (from 0.01 nm/s to 1 m/s) and controlling the evolution of the load with time, including loads up to several thousand Newtons in less than a millisecond enables the research team to make a unique in situ analysis of contacts in all lubrication regimes.

Thus the manufacturers will be able to validate their concepts for materials, surface treatments and lubricant formulations team for optimizing energy dissipation in all types of lubricated contact Speaking at the 23rd International Colloquium Tribology in January 2022, Mazuyer detailed the IMOTEP research capabilities: 5 The simultaneous measurement of interfacial film rheology (viscoelasticity under pressure), film thickness and contact forces at high resolution (10nN and 0.01nm); 5 The accurate control of contact kinematics, the simultaneous measurement of contact forces and film thickness distribution as well as chemical analysis of the convergent and high-pressure zones by IR spectroscopy and contact visualization; 5 The measurement of friction torque, film thickness, temperature, and position, control of velocity, shaft alignment and stability characterization in a lab-scale bearing.

The laboratory’s primary experimental capabilities include original tribometers, rotating machinery dynamics, contact fatigue, high-performance procedures, bio-engineering of living tissues, technical analyses of surfaces and materials, microscopes, simulators, and vibration test rigs.

The laboratory has over 350 staff and, as well as studying tribology, its researchers study structure and system dynamics (control of vibrations, control of system stability and mechanical parts), the mechanics of materials and processes (behaviour of materials and living tissues in relation to their microstructure, computational mechanics of surfaces) and geomaterials (structural and edifice analysis, soil mechanics).

8 Research into water-based lubricants is being stimulated by pressure to reduce GHG emissions from traditional lubricants

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FUELS & LUBRICATION Marcus Schaerer, GM Technical & Services, Shell Marine discusses how next generation lubricants and technology will be needed to meet the transition

LUBRICATION WILL PLAY A KEY ROLE IN DECARBONISATION

Shipping faces a difficult challenge. It must meet demands of the world’s growing population while radically reducing its own emissions. To do this, it must accelerate change to unlock a lower-carbon and more efficient future.

Yet, its transition will not be easy. With alternative fuels critical for the marine energy transition, adjusting to a mosaic of fuels will undoubtedly impact the requirements of lubrication development, as well as how ship owners approach their lubrication requirements.

How will alternative fuels impact lubrication practices?

The emergence of future fuels will not alter the core role of lubricants – to prevent corrosive, adhesive, or abrasive wear and cleanliness.

However, they are expected to increase the complexity of this role, since alternative fuels may contribute to an operating environment that demands lubricants with different qualities, such as increased detergency and improved thermal stability.

This uncertainty is leading to challenges along the whole value chain, from research & development and product approval to the availability of components and supply chain capabilities – all of which need to be carefully managed to avoid disruption.

At the same time, many will argue that internal combustion engines will persist in shipping for many years to come, especially for vessels of 2,000 deadweight tonnage (dwt) and above, and considering a strong order book for a new fleet with two-stroke and four-stroke engines.

We also know that dual fuel engines are becoming more common, requiring lubricant manufacturers to develop more flexible solutions that can be used effectively whether LNG, diesel or fuel sharing modes.

Coordination and cooperation: the value of productive ecosystems To prepare for this alternative fuels future, manufacturers and operators must work together to review lubrication strategy. Firstly, to ensure that marine lubricants and associated technical or digital services continue to add value, but increasingly, so they can help the maritime value chain work towards its sustainability goals.

But to develop effective new products, we first need to understand how the sector is adapting their practices and decision making in response to the evolving regulatory, economic, and operational climate.

That’s why it’s so important for lubricant manufacturers, like Shell, to work together with both the customers who are facing a tougher operating environment, and the OEMs who are developing higher efficiency engines as a result.

Why intelligent monitoring is key to understanding complexity OEMs are offering new design and retrofit options that allow operators to use a wide range of fuels. And while every engine-fuel combination has its own challenges, several common factors are driving lubricant developments, such as increased thermal stress and a higher risk of deposit build-up – all of which are underpinned by a need for optimal cleanliness performance.

To meet this need, detailed monitoring of specific engine performance markers and characteristics is critical. Because, whether loading, contamination, wear debris, or lubrication (i.e., lack of base number) related, most machinery failures can in fact be avoided by regular sampling and structured data management.

It is why manufacturers are aligned on the need for constant lubrication monitoring to establish baselines that can help operators react to changes immediately. Engine monitoring programmes, such as Shell LubeMonitor and Shell VitalyX, therefore become a key piece of the modern operator’s toolkit in adapting to the alternative fuel evolution.

Previously, operators may have felt compelled to focus on reducing cylinder

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lubrication feed rates despite potentially risking engine performance. Direct monitoring tools like Shell LubeMonitor, however, use both onboard and onshore tests to help identify the lowest possible feed rate and optimum wear rate combination, helping save time and money.

Meanwhile, Shell VitalyX combines the industrial internet of things with artificial intelligence to present insights based on real-time sensor data. In turn, operators are provided predictive information, so they can make proactive decisions on maintenance planning while extending equipment life.

Set a course now or risk falling behind Shipping's energy transition will have a profound impact on the industry with difficult challenges to navigate, and clearly, collaboration throughout the value chain will be needed.

For lubricant manufacturers, this means working with stakeholders to develop solutions that can unlock efficiencies in the engine room today, while developing marine lubricants which help maintain optimal engine performance and lower costs long term.

And for marine operators, not only must these next-generation lubricants become a vital part of the maintenance toolkit, but the sector must shift from traditional “cylinder condition monitoring” programmes to integrated, real-time engine monitoring programmes.

This will allow the sector to prepare for its decarbonisation journey, regardless of which fuels emerge to drive shipping forward.

MARCH 2022 | 33

FUELS & LUBRICATION

LUBRICATION OPTIMISATION KEY TO REDUCING GHG EMISSIONS Rathesan Ravendran, Technology and Innovation Specialist, Hans Jensen Lubricators A/S discusses how cylinder lubrication oil consumption contributes to GHG emissions Annual greenhouse gas emissions from shipping exceeded 1 billion tons in 2018. While this only constitutes 2.9 % of global emissions, it exceeded the annual emissions from Germany, the largest single emitter in the European Union.

The current prediction is that significant part of the emission reduction can be achieved by changeover to green fuels such as ammonia, methanol and bio-fuels as well as technologies as wind-assisted propulsion and CO₂ scrubbers.

Adapting these measures is however not enough to reach a fully carbon neutral vessels. There are several hidden sources on board vessels contributing indirectly to GHG emissions – and a significant contributor is cylinder lubrication oil.

Hans Jensen Lubricators A/S have been working on this topic for many years, and delivered products that reduce lubrication oil consumption and environmental impact for vessels. The products are in continues development in order to meet the needs and requirements from the market. This article highlights the emissions related to cylinder lubrication, and how it is possible to reduce these by efficient lubrication.

Emission related to lubricating two-stroke marine diesel engines Cylinder lubrication is essential for the performance of twostroke diesel engines. It is the key component controlling the friction loss and wear on the cylinder liner and piston rings, by providing a thin oil film between the sliding interfaces.

Increasing the dosage of lubrication oil does not mean less frictional losses and wear. It is as damaging as low oil dosage, as well as an environmental problem due to engine smoke formation and oil sludge production, which is naturally increased with the lubrication oil consumption. Therefore, balancing lubrication oil becomes important part of an engine when aiming at enhancing lubrication performance and reducing its contribution to exhaust gas emissions.

Mechanical efficiency (reduced friction) Proper lubrication has a significant impact on the mechanical efficiency (reduced friction), which have a direct contribution to reduced emissions, including CO₂ emissions. The less engine friction, the less energy is required to propel the vessel, the less fuel is burned. Consequently, fewer emissions are created.

Friction losses that occur at liner/ring interface led to loss in propulsion power. Research has shown that this interface contributes to about 20% of the engine’s total mechanical frictional loss. Another source for power loss comes from insufficient gas seal by the lubrication oil between cylinder liner and piston rings, which will lead to reduced compression pressure.

lifetime have an additional impact on CO₂ emissions, which are related to the production and logistics of the components.

Wear near the top-dead-center (TDC) is often the limiting factor for the lifetime of engines. High wear rates are caused by abrasive and adhesive wear which is highly influenced by the engine operating conditions of the engine. Today, engines are exposed to tougher conditions with the low-sulphur fuels, since sulphur in the fuel have a beneficial tribological effect due to build-up of a solid lubricating oil film and due to promoting a beneficial mild corrosive wear. The lost lubricity of the low sulphur fuel must be replaced by conventional cylinder lubrication oil, distributed correctly on the cylinder liner.

8 Figure 1: Wear rate pr. 1,000 main engine running hours before and after HJ Lubtronic 2.0 upgrade on BW Egret. The results show that the wear rate is reduced from 0.13 to 0.028 mm/1,000 hours, which increases the lifetime of the cylinders to more than 90,000 hours

Lubrication oil consumption Lubrication oils are formulated to uphold sufficient performance in a very hostile environment inside the marine engine. Lubrication oils are therefore complex and containing a lot of different components. Paraffinic base oil is used because it has a good oxidation resistance, good thermal stability, low volatility, good demulsibility, and a high viscosity index. The additive package consists of various components, each of them having specific properties and functions e.g., acid neutralization.

As cylinder lubrication oil for marine diesel engines are only a once-through oil, it is necessary to utilize its properties as efficient as possible in order to reduce oil consumption and thus environmental impact. While some emissions are produced from the lubrication oil’s primary usage of lubricating in the engine, however the majority of the emissions are related to the secondary fate of the lubrication oil. A part of the lubrication oil will combust/evaporate inside 8 Figure 2: In cylinder mechanisms connected to particulate emissions

Engine component life time Proper lubrication can extend the lifetime of cylinder liners and piston rings. Figure 1 shows the results from a test project on the vessel BW Egret, where the lifetime of the cylinder is increased by a factor of 4.6. Extending component

34 | MARCH 2022

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FUELS & LUBRICATION the engine and release heat/energy. While another part will end up as oil sludge in the drain, which then will release emissions to the atmosphere in the waste treatment process.

Particulate matter from cylinder lubrication oil According to several studies, cylinder lubrication oil is a major contributor to a ship’s particulate emissions. It is reported that cylinder lubrication oil covers approximately 50% of the particulate emissions. There are several mechanisms connected to the particulate emissions; 5 Oil throw-off: Oil on the piston is driven towards the combustion chamber by inertia forces.

5 Gas flow and reverse blow-by: Oil is driven by pressure to flow towards the combustion chamber.

5 Evaporation: Oil on the piston and cylinder liner degrades and evaporates from hot surfaces.

5 Top-land scraping: Oil is scraped from the cylinder liner by the piston top land or, more likely, by carbon deposits on the top land.

Studies show a linear relation between cylinder lubrication oil feed rate and particulate matter. This means that a reduction in the consumption of cylinder lubrication will directly lead to less particulate emissions.

Technology measures for reducing emissions from lubrication oil Achieving optimal lubrication oil consumption is highly prioritized by Hans Jensen Lubricators, meaning optimal cylinder condition clear from deposits, reduced wear of piston rings and cylinder liner as well as lowest possible cylinder oil consumption and thereof minimal emission. This is achieved by is achieved by: 1. Injecting lubrication oil at each piston stroke. This will refresh the oil film at each piston stroke and thereby minimise the stress level and degradation of the oil film on the cylinder liner.

2. Injecting only the required amount of lubrication. This will reduce excessive oil in the cylinder that will be exposed to evaporation, oil throw-off and top-land scraping. Furthermore, also preventing accumulation of oil additives, such as calcium carbonate particles which will lead to scuffing.

3. Optimal distribution of the lubrication oil at the cylinder liner. Especially, at the top of the cylinder where the wear and stresses on the oil film is highest due to temperature, pressure and corrosive environment.

All abovementioned design criteria for the lubrication

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Case Story A field test has been conducted for a year to demonstrate the effect of HJ Lubtronic 2.0 SIP system in collaboration with ”K” Line Bulk Shipping on 10 vessels. For the entire field test period, the engine has been operating on LSFO and lubrication oil of 70 BN. The main engine condition has been evaluated by scavenging-port inspections.

The result is summarized in Figure 6, where it is shown that the feed rate before installation was between 0.8 and 1.4 g/ kWh, and with HJ SIP technology all vessels have reduced the feed rate significantly and are targeting 0.5 g/kWh. Through expertise in engineering impacts and modelling, together with a robust database of marine diesel engines, HJL has been able to calculate the impact of lubricant on CO₂ emissions and particulate matter reduction across the vessels.

Besides yearly savings of approximately US$400,000, K-line benefits from the improved cylinder lubrication by achieving yearly reductions across all 10 vessels in direct CO₂-emission of approximately 600 tons and particulate matter of 25 tons (Figure 7). This enables ship-owner to pick up cash savings as well as be a part of the transition towards greener shipping.

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8 Figure 3: Summarized test results of the lubrication oil optimization project conducted in collaboration with ”K” Line Bulk Shipping on 10 vessels

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8 Figure 4: Yearly reduction of CO₂ and particulate emissions achieved by optimizing lubrication oil consumption with HJ lubrication system

system will ensure efficient utilization of the injection lubrication oil, and thereby low lubrication oil feed rates and emissions can be achieved.

For this purpose, the HJ lubrication systems operates with automated stepless stroke adjustment and timed lubrication.

Combining lubrication systems with SIP injection principle is said to ensure good engine condition. This is when lubrication oil is injected as a spray, directing the lubricating oil upwards and into the engines scavenging air.

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MARCH 2022 | 35

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PORTSTRATEGY INSIGHT FOR PORT EXECUTIVES

DESIGN FOR PERFORMANCE

RETROFITS CRITICAL TO DECARBONISATION GOALS Retrofits need to be a major focus if the industry is to meet 2050 targets, says Ulrik Dan Frorup, Chief Commercial Director at Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore Shipowners are already finding it challenging to meet decarbonisation goals – many are resorting to engine speed limitations as the only economically viable way they can see to meet 2023 goals, knowing of course, that this won’t get them anywhere near 2050 goals, or even 2030 goals. Shipyards are currently fully booked, so newbuilds are not a viable option in many cases either.

This highlights the need for retrofit solutions that can be applied to the existing fleet and offer a financially viable way to ensure its compliance, now and in the long term. At Bureau Veritas, we recently granted Approval in Principle for one such promising concept - combining LNG fuel and the upsizing of large container ships as an innovative way of reducing emissions while also building a strong business case by increasing the vessel’s lifetime and cargo capacity.

The concept was developed by GTT, Alwena Shipping, and COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Zhoushan shipyard. BV confirmed the concept of the retrofit being in compliance with Classification requirements, as well as the layout of the LNG fuel containment system and gas fuel supply system, supported by an auxiliary safety system in accordance with the IGF Code and BV Rule NR 529.

The retrofit and upsizing is deemed a major modification. It involves cutting the vessel in two and integrating an additional 28-metre hull block containing a 12,000-cbm membranetype LNG fuel tank, topped by a gas handling system and with an additional 1,100 teu cargo capacity above that. The block is the maximum size that can be safely floated in to be welded to the fore part of the vessel before all three sections are welded together and the vessel floated back out of drydock.

While their first LNG and upsizing concept has focused on a 14,000 teu vessel, the development partners believe it is suitable for 11-13,000 teu vessels of the same width.

Compared with an equivalent container ship powered by conventional fossil fuel, the converted vessel would reduce CO2 emissions by around 23% over ver an 83-day Europe-Asia return trip (port calls included). ded).

Increasing cargo capacity to boost payback back of LNG A major aim of the upsizing concept was to demonstrate that the increased cargo capacity could reduce the payback period eriod of the conversion. The increased length h of the ship, combined with the LNG G conversion of the propulsion and d electrical generation systems, enables a reduction in the operating costs that limits the financial impact of the immobilisation period required for the retrofit. The project partners anticipate a payback time of less than six years,, although this could be shorter still given n the buoyant market and current demand nd for container shipping. nce The concept builds on the experience

gained converting Hapag Lloyd’s 15,000 teu Sajir (renamed Brussels Express) to gas operation in 2020 at Huarun Dadong Dockyard in Shanghai. In this case, the vessel was not extended, but there have been other successful extension projects for owners such as MSC and CMA CGM. Considering the outcome of the concept, it is recommended that shipowners commence the engineering design 18 months prior to a vessel’s annual special survey to meet the emissions targets set by the IMO. The $40-41 million project is anticipated to take up to 24 months. This includes about six months for the detailed design, three months for classification, and 126 days for the vessel to be out of operation including a 42-day stay in drydock to install the new block, which would be built in advance.

Block construction should not be a significant constraint as, for example, Korean yards have indicated they are interested in building blocks with LNG tanks and offering them to other shipyards.

8 The new concept combines LNG retrofit and jumboisation for large container ships

The potential of LNG At BV, we see LNG as a key transition fuel on the route to zero carbon. Experience p gained in LNG will be leveraged to develop zero-carbon solutions, s notably in hydrogen and ammonia.

Almost one o third of vessels on order today are slated to run on LNG. This widespread adoption has been possible thanks t to better infrastructure throughout the LNG value v chain, excellent safety track record, making makin LNG an attractive option for retrofit as well. we It offers shipowners a solution to comply with w the environmental regulations being adopted by the IMO up to at least 2045 by reducing emissions by six grams of CO2 per tonne per nautical mile.

The sustainability transition is characterised by a fast-evolving commercial, technological and regulatory landscape, and ensuring compliance with upcoming regulations is a major challenge for the industry. BV is proud to support companies in their sustainability journey whatever their starting point, identifying the best solutions for each vessel taking into account the nature of their fleets and o operational context.

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MARCH 2022 | 37

SHIP DESCRIPTION

LARGEST ETHANE CARRIER BOOSTS US SHIPMENTS Pioneer in regular, inter-continental shipments of ethane, the UK global petrochemicals and plastics group INEOS has given new dimension to its logistic and trading activities through the entry into service of the 99,000m3-capacity liquefied gas carrier Pacific INEOS Belstaff, writes David Tinsley

8 A Chinese technological feat: Jiangnan-built 99,000m3 ethane carrier with home-grown Type B tank system

Built by Jiangnan Shipyard, the vessel is the largest ethanecapable gas tanker to date, and provides an opening reference for a Chinese-developed cargo containment system based on IMO Type B cryogenic tanks. She will be primarily engaged in the traffic from the USA to Europe and China.

Two such carriers, powered by dual-fuel, two-stroke propulsion machinery, were contracted at Jiangnan by Chinese leasing specialists for assignment to the fleet controlled by Pacific Gas(Hong Kong), part of the stateowned Shandong Marine Group. Under INEOS long-term agreements with the Hong Kong-based operator, Pacific INEOS Belstaff and her soon-to-be-delivered consort Pacific INEOS Grenadier will transport feedstock to new crackers in northern Europe and China.

Adoption of the Jiangnan Shipyard-developed BrilliancE Type B cargo containment system in the prestigious new ship emphasises the growing technological self-reliance of China’s maritime industrial sector. The four independent, diamond-shaped tanks have been manufactured from 5% nickel steel and feature multi-layer insulation panels and sophisticated leakage detection and mitigation measures.

38 | MARCH 2022

The vessel has been built to dual class requirements of China Classification Society(CCS) and American Bureau of Shipping(ABS). The latter granted approval in principle(AiP) for the cargo system design in September 2019, having been involved with Jiangnan’s engineers from the outset.

The design provides for a minimum cargo temperature of minus 104degC, which brings ethylene transportation within the realm of the new ships as well as affording ample margin for the carriage of ethane, which has a boiling point of minus 88.5degC, and for general trading in LPG, such as propane and propylene, maintained in a liquid state at minus 48degC. The vessel type marries record-breaking scale with cargo flexibility, providing the operators with the means to adapt to an evolving, global market.

The BrilliancE solution has been devised to optimise underdeck volume by fitting closely to the ship’s external shape. Other key objectives of the design project included a solution that would impose no liquid loading level restrictions and leave minimal cargo residue post-discharge, while ensuring high reliability, long structural fatigue life, and low maintenance costs.

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SHIP DESCRIPTION The new entrant to the Pacific Gas fleet embodies the VSBow, conceived by the shipyard and proven in existing vessels to enhance speed-keeping performance in adverse wave conditions.

Pacific INEOS Belstaff has a dual-fuel, two-stroke propulsion engine of the ME-GIE type developed by MAN Energy Solutions, capable of ingesting cargo condensate, or the natural ‘boil-off’ that occurs during transportation.

Competitive both in fuel oil and gas consumption, and derived from the ME-GI gas-injected engine, the GIE version offers operational stability and efficiency due to the use of the diesel principle.

The model employed is a six-cylinder G60ME-C9.5-GIE, specified at a rating of 13,972kW at 88.3rpm, providing direct drive to a fixed pitch screw supplied by Dalian Marine Propeller. The installation was manufactured under licence

by Hyundai Heavy Industries and incorporates high-pressure, selective calalytic reduction(SCR).

Three gensets of 1,720kW apiece have been supplied from the same source, complemented by a permanent-magnet shaft generator delivered by WE Tech and designed to give an output of 2,300kW. In PTO mode, the proprietary WE Drive enables the propulsion machinery to operate in combinatory/ variable speed while the direct-drive PM generator produces power for the ship’s electrical net.

UK-developed technology in the shape of Babcock LGE’s ecoETHN cargo handling and fuel gas supply system has been adopted for the Pacific Gas ships. The ecoETHN solution allows the carriage of higher methane-content ethane cargoes by integrating the vessel’s reliquefaction system with engine fuel gas supply. It enables the reliquefaction of ethane/methane boil-off gas from the cargo for use as fuel in the main machinery and auxiliaries.

Moreover, by harnessing the methane component specifically as an energy/fuel source, the methane element of the cargo is reduced during the voyage, such that ethane cargoes can be delivered at a higher purity than when originally loaded.

On a typical voyage carrying a single-grade ethane shipment from the USA to China, ecoETHN will reduce the reliquefaction requirements, necessitating operation of only one reliquefaction unit for significant periods. Through contracts with Babcock LGE and Jiangnan Shipyard, the Norwegian firm Hoglund Marine Solutions supplied the vessel’s integrated automation and gas management systems.

Pacific INEOS Belstaff takes the INEOS-engaged fleet to 11 vessels. Two other VLECs, the 85,000m3 sisters JS INEOS Marlin and JS INEOS Dolphin, were constructed by Dalian Shipyard and introduced during 2019-2020, while eight 27,500m3-capacity, Chinese-built Dragon-class, multi-gas tankers have been bringing ethane eastward across the Atlantic since 2016. The UK industrial group expects the next newbuild from Jiangnan, the 99,000m3 Pacific INEOS Grenadier, to make her debut during the spring.

The ethane shipped from the USA is a by-product of shale gas extraction. Among the highlights of the current industrial investment programme of INEOS is the project to build a new ethane gas cracker and propane dehydrogenation(PDH) unit for the production of ethylene and propylene in Antwerp. The EUR3bn(US$3.2bn) scheme represents the biggest expenditure in the European chemicals sector for about 25 years, and will reinforce the city port’s position as Europe’s leading petrochemical cluster and transport hub.

It is claimed that the ethane cracker will have the lowest carbon footprint in Europe, at three times less than the average European steam cracker and half that of the 10 best performing crackers. The target date for operational start is 2026, as construction will take approximately four years.

PRINCIPAL PARTICULARS - Pacific INEOS Belstaff Length overall 230.0m Length bp 226.0m Breadth, moulded 36.6m Depth, moulded 22.5m Draught, scantling 12.8m Deadweight 60,227t Gross tonnage c.60,000t Displacement 82,572t Cargo capacity 99,000m3 Cargoes Ethane, ethylene, LPG Main engine power 13,972kW Speed, design 16kts Block coefficient 0.76 Generator sets 3 x 1,720kW Shaft generator 2,300kW Class ABS/CCS ABS class notations +1A1, Liquefied gas carrier with independent tanks, +AMS, +ACCU, CPS, SH, SHCM Additional notations CRC, RRDA, SC-PL, SP, UWILD, RW, DFD-Ethane, NBLES, BWE, BWT, Enviro, DM-A, IHM, TCM Registry Hong Kong Pacific INEOS Belstaff and Pacific INEOS Grenadier signal the start of a more extensive new chapter of production at Jiangnan Shipyard, where two 93,000m3 ethane tankers of the Panda design are also under construction for Tianjin Southwest Marine. In addition, Wanhua Chemical Group has contracted for two ethane carriers of the 99,000m3 design using BrilliancE containment, to be delivered during 2025.

Wanhua has options on a further pair.

Contract signing with Pacific Gas took place at the end of 2019, and Pacific INEOS Belstaff was handed over on 31 December 2021. Jiangnan and the suppliers involved have shown their mettle in achieving a two-year order-to-delivery timeframe for a first-of-class at such scale and technical complexity.

ETHANE Ethane(C2H6) is the second largest component of natural gas following methane.Extracted from natural gas, or as a by-product of petroleum refining, ethane serves predominantly as a feedstock for the production of ethylene, used as a basic component in the manufacture of many chemicals and plastics. The US shale gas revolution has created plentiful supplies of competitively-priced ethane.

What’s in the name?

BELSTAFF The new ship has the Belstaff symbol and slogan ‘Built for Life’ emblazoned on the hull sides. Belstaff is a contemporary, luxury clothing brand originating in the UK and owned by INEOS since 2017.

GRENADIER The Grenadier is a robust, 4x4 utility vehicle developed

by INEOS Automotive, to fill the market gap left by the 2016 ending of production of the older model of Land Rover Defender. The Grenadier is set to go into volume manufacture this year at the company’s Hambach factory in France.

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MARCH 2022 | 39

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50 YEARS AGO

JAPAN LOOKS WESTWARD In March 1972 a number of articles examined the Japanese industry, which was beginning to dominate the shipbuilding world.

Representatives from Japan’s equipment companies had carried out a tour of European shipyards, looking for interest from European export customers. Japanese yards had previously relied on imported machinery and equipment from Europe, including engines built to European designs under licence in Japan. It was recognised that European products were familiar, and often seen as cheaper and better quality, but Japan was determined to change that.

As a result, the Japanese delegation returned home with the view that if price and quality were right, Japan could sell its products to European customers. However, it had to ensure that after-sales service could be provided, that Japanese products would be compatible with European items, delivery costs for larger and heavier items could be controlled, and that Japanese OEMs were represented by knowledgeable and respected European agents.

Japanese shipbuilding continued to develop, the yards endeavouring to offer quick delivery schedules and high-quality workmanship. Mitsui’s ‘Rotas’ system was beginning to show its worth – this being a conveyor-belt style approach, with blocks assembled under cover using rotating welding machinery – the idea being to turn shipbuilding from a labour-intensive to a technology-led exercise. The approach was believed to offer a 10% reduction in building time as well as improved quality.

Although most marine engines coming out of Japan were licensee-bult European designs, Mitsubishi’s own UE series was gaining favour, particularly in the medium-sized categories for domestic owners. The latest engines, known as the D series, offered a 15% increase in power over their predecessors. All UE engines were said to be designed for reliability, with high rigidity of major components, and carefully designed air and scavenging systems for optimum combustion.

Interestingly, the UE range comprised both crosshead and trunk-piston designs. The latest versions were equipped with Mitsubishi’s own MET

The international magazine for senior marine engineers EDITORIAL & CONTENT Editor: Nick Edstrom editor@mercatormedia.com Correspondents Please contact our correspondents at editor@motorship.com Bill Thomson, David Tinsley, Tom Todd, Stevie Knight, Wendy Laursen Production David Blake, Gary Betteridge production@mercatormedia.com SALES & MARKETING t +44 1329 825335 f +44 1329 550192 8 Bulk carrier Cunard Campaigner prepares for launch at Astilleros Espanoles

non-water-cooled turbochargers, allowing efficient and reliable operation with low-grade fuel oils.

It was not only Japan that featured strongly 50 years ago. Articles looked at shipbuilding in both Spain and Greece. Thanks to mergers of leading Spanish yards, the national industry had built up a healthy order book, driven by the need for replacement of an ageing merchant fleet, and supported by generous government aid and credits.

This meant that production had increased almost tenfold since the start of the replacement programme in 1956. The economies of scale achieved through mergers and investment in yards to build ever-larger ships had led to a growth in export orders, notably in bulk carriers and large tankers.

Greece was hoping to achieve similar success – it being noted that the nation was second only to Japan in shipbuilding expansion plans. However, many of these were lacking in certainty, with Greek owners in dry cargo and tanker markets suffering from dismal freight rates. It was hoped that a new licence agreement between Hellenic Shipyards’ Skaramanga yard – one of the few that was actually in existence and building new ships - and Italian engine designer Fiat would bring some firm backing for the ambitious plans. A few km away, Eleusis was building its first new vessel.

Finally, automation continued to attract interest.

Although manufacturers were upbeat, owners still remained to be convinced. The systems themselves had proved mainly reliable, but crew needed to be trained properly in operation and maintenance. Some owners recognised the desirability of removing the human element, but were unconvinced of the overall cost benefits. Moreover, skilled and experienced engineer officers were still believed better able to deal with problems onboard than automatic systems, however comprehensively programmed.

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8 Mitsubishi’s 6 UEC 52/105D engine, rated 6,200 bhp at 175 rpm

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