The Motorship September 2020

SEPTEMBER 2020

Vol. 101 Issue 1184

EEDI phase 3:

DNV GL autonomy: MS100 Kongsberg: Autonomous vessels:

VLCC and bulker focus Vartdal on AI assurance

An-Magritt Ryste interview Special feature

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: SHI SOFC LNGC design | Terntank hybrid chemical tanker | Solid-state batteries | Retrofits feature

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Introducing the upgraded MAN B&W ME-GI Mk. 2 and the new low-pressure MAN B&W ME-GA Our dual-fuel two-stroke LNG engines provide you with the most advanced, HQHUJ\ HIÀFLHQW VROXWLRQV RQ WKH PDUNHW QR PDWWHU ZKHWKHU \RX RSHUDWH DQ /1* carrier or any other type of vessel.

Power ahead at: www.man-es.com/MEGI-MEGA

CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER 2020

8

4

NEWS

26 Ricardo virtual certification

Ricardo provided its first marine virtual certification service in August, certifying an MTU marine engine series for BOS Power.

26 LGM Engineering Type C

LGM received type approval from ABS for its multi-body, stacked “LGM–MMC” Type C tank in July. The tank has been developed for small to medium-sized container ships.

34 SOFC-powered LNGC

Samsung Heavy Industry plans to complete a 174,000m3 LNGC newbuilding powered by 30MW of solid oxide fuel cells by the end of 2022.

46 REGULARS 8 Leader Briefing

Torgeir Sterri, Regional Manager Western Europe, DNV GL – Maritime, discusses the challenges of assuring safety for autonomous vessels in a joint interview with BjørnJohan Vartdal.

44 Design for Performance

Two Kongsbergdesigned 15,000dwt twin-hull chemical tanker newbuildings for Terntank will feature a battery system, cold ironing and a hybrid bow thruster.

Online motorship.com 5 Latest news 5 Comment & analysis 5 Industry database 5 Events Weekly E-News Sign up for FREE at: www.motorship.com/enews

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24

FEATURES

12 Minimum power

Philip Holt at MAN ES addresses minimum power requirements, and suggests the EEDI guidelines emphasise minimum torque, rather than minimum power.

24 Room with a view

Short-sea engine rooms may be looking at an interesting blend of onboard crew and supported operations, writes Stevie Knight.

32 Winch upgrades

Viking Line and ABB have proven the concept of mooring winch upgrades, reusing old motors but updating to stepless speed control.

36 Electric Avenue

Erno Tenhunen, marine director at Danfoss Editron, assesses the outlook for autonomous vessels and full-electric vessels and discusses new market opportunities.

42 MS100 – Kongsberg Maritime

As part of our series of articles celebrating The Motorship’s centenary, we feature an interview with An-Magritt Ryste, Product Director, Next Generation Shipping, at Kongsberg Maritime.

46 Ship Description

A high capacity, DP3class vessel for laying, connecting and repairing subsea power cables and umbilicals is taking shape at Ulsteinvik.

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

100

YEARS

2021

The Motorship’s Propulsion & Future Fuels Conference will take place on 18-20 May 2021 in Hamburg, Germany.

Stay in touch at propulsionconference.com

SEPTEMBER 2020 | 3

NEWS REVIEW

VIEWPOINT

FIRST ME-GI ENGINE WITH NEW PVU UNIT COMPLETES SEA TRIALS

NICK EDSTROM | Editor nedstrom@motorship.com

The highlight of this month’s issue is a series of articles the conclusion of our recent focus on the implications of EEDI phase 3 for ship designers and ship owners, with articles focusing on the implications for oil tanker and dry bulk carrier owners.

As one of the proposed solutions is the extension of battery hybridisation amid other options, we also include a feature on battery hybridisation. We include a standalone feature on a new Japanese solid-state battery technology and their plans for entering the East Asian maritime market.

In our regular Design for Performance slot, we cover Terntank’s innovative dual-fuel chemical tanker newbuilding project, which include an energy storage system and shore power connection. No less interestingly, Claes Möller of Tärntank Ship Management notes that the vessels are expecting to operate on up on LNG blends including up to 30 percent LBG. Closer to home, and in line with another theme of this issue – retrofits and conversions – we feature an interview with Danfoss Editron’s Erno Tenhunen, who outlines the company’s plans to develop its portfolio to meet developing market opportunities.

AUTONOMOUS SHIPPING One of those opportunities was autonomous shipping. This is topical, as the IMO Maritime Safety Committee’s initial scoping exercise into the application of IMO regulations for maritime autonomous surface ships nears its conclusion. DNV GL’s Torgeir Sterri, Regional Manager Western Europe, DNV GL – Maritime, discusses the challenges of assuring safety for autonomous vessels in a joint interview with Bjørn-Johan Vartdal.

The implications of short-hop autonomous drones on short-sea logistics, drawing on several pilot projects currently underway in Norway, is one area of focus. We assess the potential for remote engine room operations aboard larger short-sea and deep-sea vessels. Meanwhile, we also feature an in-depth article on autonomous shipping by one of One Sea’s Senior Ecosystem Leads, Päivi Haikkola and a feature on the development of simulators for autonomous shipping.

ENTER THE FUEL CELL? We also feature Samsung Heavy’s upcoming LNG carrier design, which substitutes both the main and auxiliary engines on the vessel with 30MW of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) from US developer Bloom Energy.

It remains to be seen whether this represents an evolutionary cul-de-sac or something more significant. While the technology has considerable potential, the technical challenges of developing and managing SOFC-powered vessels are formidable. This month’s 50 Years Ago feature – The Gas Turbine Cometh – offers a warning about overblown predictions about competing technologies in commercial marine propulsion. Finally, the announcement by MAN ES that it was adding an EGR option to its upcoming ME-GA Otto Cycle dual-fuel engine from launch came too late during production for an-depth feature. We plan to cover the EGR solution in more detail in next month’s issue.

4 | SEPTEMBER 2020

Image courtesy of EPS

Autonomy and known unknowns

The first ME-GI engine to feature MAN Energy Solutions’ newly-developed Pump Vaporizer Unit (PVU) has successfully completed LNG gas trials in South Korea, MAN ES has announced.

The successful gas-trial marks the commercial debut of the PVU8000, the largest PVU ever produced by MAN ES and the largest available on the marine market. The unit ensures the reliable flow of LNG through a compact design that - through individual control of the cryogenic pumps (cold-ends) - provides the redundancy required to ensure high reliability at all times.

The Tenere was built at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI), while the engine for the neoPanamax boxship was built under licence at HHI-EMD (Hyundai’s Engine Machinery Division). The 11-cylinder model of the G90ME-GI gas-injected design produces 68,640kW at its nominal maximum continuous rating.

Thomas S. Hansen, Head of Two-Stroke Promotion & Customer Support at MAN ES in Copenhagen told The Motorship that the range of new technical solutions underlined the company’s increasing focus on propulsion solutions. “Alongside the engine, which is the largest and most powerful engine we have supplied, we have also supplied the LNG pump that supplies it,” Hansen said. It was a testament to the collaboration between the different parties in the project that the project had been delivered on schedule.

The vessel is also the first to

8 Eastern Pacific Shipping’s newbuilding, Tenere, which has just successfully passed gas trials with an ME-GI engine featuring a PVU (Pump Vaporizer Unit) and PBIV (Pilot Booster Injection Valve)

feature MAN ES’ new Pilot Booster Injection Valve (PBIV), which employs smaller or larger atomising holes, depending on fuel mode, to inject fuel into engines. The use of smaller holes in gas mode significantly reduces pilot-oil consumption, which MAN ES expects to reduce to 1.5%, approximately half of what was previously required.

While the ME-GI had excellent efficiency characteristics, the reliability record of MAN ES’s ME-GI engines was also “impeccable”, Hansen said. This was underscored by the service experience of ME-GI operators, who recorded a gas-availability rate of greater than 98%.

EPS CEO, Cyril Ducau, stated: “The successful gas and sea trials and the on-schedule delivery of CMA CGM Tenere make for an important MAN and EPS milestone. Three years ago, we committed to investing in alternative marine fuels, like LNG, to lead the industry towards decarbonisation and environmental preservation. This commitment included selecting MAN’s high-pressure ME-GI engines, which are highly efficient and, importantly, reduce methane slippage to negligible levels.

These vessels will be IMO 2030 compliant years ahead of schedule and will be the cleanest vessels of their category on-the-water today.”

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

NEWS REVIEW

BRIEFS First ME-GA delivery

MAN Energy Solutions remains on track to deliver its first ME-GA low-pressure dualfuel engine by end-2021. The company is developing five and six cylinder variants of a 700mm-bore size engine, and could also deliver a 600mm version. The company was adding a high-pressure EGR version to existing SCR and basic versions. The SCR and EGR versions would also ensure IMO Tier III compliance in diesel mode.

6 | SEPTEMBER 2020

LNG BUNKER TANK DEVELOPED FOR TIGHT SPACES

credit LGM Engineering

A new Type C tank suitable for LNG bunker fuel has been developed for dual-fuel vessels, especially small to medium container ships with high space utilisation.

LGM Engineering received Approval in Principle from ABS forr its multi-body, stacked “LGMMMC” tank in July. The tank is suitable for installation in higher, longer and narrower hold spaces and could also be used on ore carriers and other vessel types.

The number of tank bodies incorporated into the design can be varied to meet specific space requirements.

The new tank has been under development since 2018 by China-based Gloryholder Liquefied Gas Machinery (LGM), which specialised in the design and turn-key delivery of marine LNG fuel gas supply systems and cargo handling systems for gas carriers and LNG bunkering vessels.

Type C tanks are designed using pressure vessel code criteria and conservative stress limits, so they do not require a secondary barrier. The new LGM-MMC tank will be made from the same materials as conventional Type C tanks and won’t require special consideration to achieve the same level of safety in that regard, says Technical Director Yun Chen. LGM carried out FEM calculations and temperature field analysis for various tank forms with different tank capacities and different stack numbers. The patented result

achieves a space utilisation of over 79 percent, says Chen, which is more than conventional Type C tanks. The new tank meets stability requirements at all levels of liquid loaded and facilitates boil-off gas management. As only one set of equipment and instruments is required, the new design also saves money, he says.

8 LGM Engineering received Approval in Principle from ABS for its multi-body, stacked “LGM-MMC” tank in July

Bin-Hong Wang, ABS Director of Engineering, Global Engineering (Shanghai), says that a key safety issue evaluated during the AIP related to the supporting structures for the tank

which were given special consideration due to the high vertical centre of gravity and heavy weight of the tank. A sloshing analysis was conducted as well as a fatigue analysis for the connection between the horizontal plates and the tank shell, including tank support ends.

He notes that as the AIP is a preliminary review, and the load will be different depending on ship size and installation location, strength calculations including yielding, buckling and fatigue analysis will be done again based on the details of specific projects.

ABS has been active in the development of technologies supporting LNG as bunker fuel and published its latest projections on carbon-reduction strategies for shipping in April, stating that the trade and regulatory landscape of short-sea vessels make them ideal candidates for early adoption of new technologies.

FURTHER ORDERS FOR J-ENG’S NEW UEC42LSH Japan Engine Corporation (J-ENG) has confirmed that it has received six follow-up orders for its new UEC42LSH engine. The first reference for the engine is a handysize bulk carrier under construction at a domestic Japanese shipyard, which is in the final stages of development.

The vessel will be fitted with a UEC42LSH-Eco-D3 type engine.

The company told The Motorship it was targeting March

2021 for the first delivery of the UEC42LSH in 2019. As previously reported in The Motorship, in Tier 2 operation, the UEC42LSH is expected to achieve a fuel consumption rate of 164 g/kWh at maximum rating.

The company noted that the new engine had a smaller footprint than the preceding engine platform, while the engine’s fuel efficiency at slower operating speeds was highly competitive in

its core small and medium-sized engine market segments.

The 42LSH-EGR type engine is equipped with the low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system. The EGR solution eliminates the need for the discharge of EGR bleed-off water.

J-ENG notes that restrictions on such discharges are expected to be extended in some areas around North America and Europe in the future.

Cat launches C32B

Appledore to reopen

Virtual Tier III test

Caterpillar Marine has launched a new engine based on its existing C32 high-speed engine platform. The Cat C32B is rated at 2,025 hp at 2,300 rpm, extending the power capability of the C32 product line, and delivering a 5% power increase over existing C32 ratings. The unit incorporates an enhanced unit injector fuel system, which delivers reduced noise at low engine loads. Genset and auxiliary engine applications are under evaluation.

InfraStrata is to reopen north Devon shipyard Appledore as H&W (Appledore), chasing contracts across the ferry, defence, steel fabrication, and offshore energy markets.

InfraStrata also saved Harland & Wolff (H&W) from closure last year. InfraStrata is well-placed to serve both ends of the market, for vessels within the 119-metre building dock length available at Appledore, and for projects requiring dock lengths of 300-metre plus at Belfast.

Ricardo worked with Norwaybased BOS Power to provide a virtual certification service to certify an MTU marine engine series in August. BOS Power arranged for the MTU 10V2000M 72 marine engine to be shipped to the test facility at Ricardo’s Shoreham Technical Centre in the UK. BOS Power, the supplier and DNV GL observed the remotely-performed emissions tests and could validate quality checks and participate in the test and certification remotely.

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

RIDE THE WAVE

Of the LNG marine expansion

All the key role players in the marine industry have started to invest in LNG technology and infrastructures, as well as in new dual fuel or gas only engines for ships and new LNG bunkering vessels too. Vanzetti Engineering ARTIKA Series submerged pumps and VT-3 Series reciprocating pumps are the default choice for low and high pressure marine engine fuel gas systems, stripping and spray applications, booster, ship to ship bunkering, cargo and more.

VANZETTI ENGINEERING. Widening the horizons of LNG sustainability. www.vanzettiengineering.com

LEADER BRIEFING

PUTTING SAFETY TO THE FORE OF MASS VESSEL ASSURANCE While the recent Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digitalisation and Big Data tools both within DNV GL - Maritime itself, and among customers interested in tools such as DATE, eCERTS and remote surveys, a second potentially disruptive technology - autonomous vessels technology - remains some way off reshaping the maritime industry, Torgeir Sterri noted.

Sterri noted that while accelerating research into autonomous technology had led to progress, the challenges connected with autonomous vessels need to be acknowledged.

These challenges were not merely the strains caused by the pace of technological progress outpacing slower moving developments in standards and guidance, or issues around liability, or the location of decision making for remotely operated machinery.

Rather, they were issues around how to ensure that technology meet safety requirements. Sterri emphasised that DNV GL’s prime concern remained ensuring safety at sea.

“It needs to be as safe as - if not better than - what we have today.”

DNV GL published its first class guideline covering autonomous and remotely operated ships, and its position paper into remote controlled and autonomous ships in the maritime industry back in September 2018, but the pace of development meant rules remains a work in progress, BjørnJohan Vartdal added.

“We have the technology today to run autonomous ships, but [not] to ensure that they are sufficiently reliable,” Vartdal said.

DNV GL is continuing to support a product assurance approach rather than a process assurance approach to ensuring the safety of autonomous vessels and systems.

“We would like regulators (IMO or flag states) to define the required safety level for a technology, and for class to come up with the methodologies to define that the required safety level has been met,” Vartdal said.

“Our job as a class society is to find a methodology to demonstrate that something that is designed or made by somebody is as safe or safer than what has been designed today.”

However, the product assurance approach has extended DNV GL’s safety assurance requirements into new areas, requiring new and highly complex methodologies to evaluate the reliability of autonomous systems.

“We are trying to assure that the technology is doing the job of a human in a sufficiently safe manner, which is a different task to ensuring the safety of a vessel’s hull or issuing type approval for a ship’s engine.”

“We have developed advanced simulator tools just for the purpose of evaluating the safety of an autonomous navigation system,” Vartdal noted. Such ‘software-in-the-loop’ solutions can test the reliability of the machine learning underpinning a navigation system in a variety of scenarios.

DNV GL has been closely involved in several development projects, including a research project into the remote

8 | SEPTEMBER 2020

Credit: DNV GL

Torgeir Sterri, Regional Manager Western Europe and Bjørn-Johan Vartdal, Maritime Digital Director at DNV GL - Maritime discussed developments in autonomous shipping

operation of machinery and automation systems (ROMAS).

With involvement in projects into semi-autonomous and autonomous projects as diverse as MacGregor’s autodocking solution and self-unloading cranes, Bjørn-Johan Vartdal offered a similarly realistic appraisal of autonomous shipping’s prospects.

The potential advantages of automating some functions has already been demonstrated. “We’ve already proven that the reliability and safety of operating machinery can be improved by moving part of the engine control ashore,” Vartdal said, citing the ROMAS project results.

However, full autonomy remained a distant prospect. “I don’t think that we will see anything revolutionary in this area very soon. To develop these technologies will require focus and time,” Vartdal concluded.

The pace of research shows no sign of relenting. Since June, DNV GL has been involved in the new Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) research centre into safe autonomous shipping, as well as a logistics project to use short-hop autonomous drones for goods distribution.

The new NTNU centre was planning to focus on how to guarantee safety and security in the use of autonomous vessels, alongside new business models and innovations in enabling technologies.

Interestingly, the NTNU research project includes a focus on both deep-sea autonomous shipping and short-sea projects, with separate projects focusing on remote emote engine room operation, autonomous us docking and autonomous crane operations, ations, for instance.

Sterri agreed that an iterative terative approach was likely, with fully autonomous mous vessels unlikely to enter service for quite some time, and semi-level services likely to autonomous or product-level arket first. continue to enter the market

8 We have the technology today to run autonomous ships, but [not] to ensure... they are sufficiently reliable.”

Bjørn-Johan Vartdal, Maritime Digital Director, DNV GL Maritime

8 “Autonomous ships need to be as safe as what we have today – if not better than – what we have today,” Torgeir Sterri, Regional Manager Western Europe, DNV GL Maritime

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

SHIP DESIGN

MAKING SHIP SYSTEMS SMARTER WITH SIMULATION

Credit: Wärtsilä/ photo Pekka Lehmuskallio

As researchers deepen their understanding of autonomous and remote vessel operations, a new breed of smart ship systems combining simulation capability and artificial intelligence is emerging

One of the biggest debates around the future of shipping is what role, if any, unmanned vessels will play. The journey may turn out to be more important than the destination: the pursuit of vessel autonomy is already leading to smarter systems that can enhance safety, cost-efficiency, and environmental performance even on today’s vessels. Simulation technology is playing a key role in their development.

“We have a vision of a more efficient, more connected, smart marine ecosystem,” says Neil Bennett, Global Director of Simulation at Wärtsilä Voyage. “Being part of the development of autonomous shipping is fundamental to shaping that future.”

Simulation is integral to developing autonomous systems.

The computer models that underpin simulation-based training – capable of replicating almost infinite permutations of marine environments, vessel traffic situations, and ship equipment – are the same that are used to inform the decision-making capabilities of intelligent systems. Deployed in real time with real people in simulators, those same models can be used to test and validate the human-machine interface and, eventually, to teach the crew how to use those systems.

Three projects at Solent University, Southampton in the UK highlight the diverse roles that simulation plays. The university’s research staff in the Warsash School of Maritime Science and Engineering recently participated in the MAXCMAS project – a GBP 1.4 mn, two-year project in which autonomous vessels were programmed to obey maritime regulations for the avoidance of collisions. The project tested

10 | SEPTEMBER 2020

8 The Intelligent Shipping Technology Test Laboratory (ISTLAB) at the Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK) in Rauma, Finland

the algorithms it had developed by modelling scenarios using simulation before a live trial was conducted onboard an autonomous minesweeping vessel in Weymouth Bay. BUILDING IN SEAMANSHIP Preparing vessels to obey regulations written with human seafarers in mind is not a simple task, explains Terry Mills, Senior Simulation Technician at Solent University, Southampton. “The regulations are well written, but are always open to interpretation. And the interpreter is a human.

A machine sees rules in black and white, so we had to build in seamanship. We ended up with a set of algorithms and an interface that could be retrofitted to any size of ship.”

A much larger project was the Europe-wide, EUR 43 mn, Sea Traffic Management initiative. Ten simulator training centres – the European Maritime Simulator Network – worked together with the goal of understanding and then facilitating the kind of data exchange that will be crucial for safely operating autonomous vessels.

Wärtsilä, as a simulation provider, took part in this project, which Mills describes as an attempt to establish “air traffic control at sea.” One key goal was understanding the data sharing needed between ports, vessels, and other stakeholders – such as ship service providers and onward logistics companies – to enable “just-in-time” sailing.

Three hundred vessels were fitted with tools to collect and transfer data. Studying interactions between these vessels provided important insights into how sea traffic could be

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

SHIP DESIGN

REMOTE CONTROL TRAINING A new potential project builds on Solent’s strong previous experience in remote and autonomous ship systems. The university is bidding for funding to extend its investigations into training seafarers in remote operations. The project aims to link Warsash’s simulation centre with one of the scale models it currently uses for ship handling training at a dedicated facility, Timsbury Lake. By using a simulator programmed with a scale model of the vessel and the lake area to control a real vessel, the project will provide a more realistic training experience for remote seafarers.

“One of the biggest barriers to training for remote operations is the capacity to test on full-scale ships,” says Mills. “Using a real vessel would be expensive and dangerous if something went wrong. Simulations are great for learning pilot skills, but cannot provide that jeopardy.”

The risk of putting a dent in one of the scale models on Timsbury Lake will provide that dose of realism. The fact that students will be operating manned models the same area will also allow researchers to study the interaction between remotely operated vessels and manned craft.

To assist in autonomous and advanced navigation projects such as these, Wärtsilä has created an open approach that makes it simpler for universities and research institutions to deploy its simulation technologies. While Wärtsilä often provides the hardware for such projects – including 3D screens and control units reproducing bridges – it is the software that is more critical. This includes the operating platform as well as models of sea areas and ship systems that can then be used in simulator rooms or fed into computers as needed.

One example is the Intelligent Shipping Technology Test Laboratory (ISTLAB) at the Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK) in Rauma, Finland. The lab, among the first of its kind, is designed as a testing environment for remotely controlled, autonomous vessels. Wärtsilä recently delivered a navigation simulator and specific mathematical models for the project. They will be used to carry out simulated testing of remote-controlled vessels that the organisers hope will culminate in a real-world case study.

THE SMART TUG OF TOMORROW The benefits of early-stage simulation testing are already being seen in one real-life application – the IntelliTug project, a collaboration between Wärtsilä and Singapore’s leading harbour and terminal towage operator, PSA Marine. The project aims to develop the smart tug of the future by retrofitting Wärtsilä’s smart navigation system on PSA Marine’s harbour tug, PSA Polaris. Through the simulator, the team tested the integration of cutting-edge technologies deployed – including collision avoidance software and system usability – with feedbacks from PSA Marine’s tug masters. The success of the simulations boosted the project team’s confidence to proceed with the next stage of the testing. In March 2020, Wärtsilä and PSA Marine successfully completed initial sea trials for the IntelliTug project.

The smart navigation system, comprised of Wärtsilä’s Dynamic Positioning system, a sensor suite and a newly developed sensor fusion engine, allows the tug master to carry out passage planning while maintaining safe distances

Credit: Wärtsilä

better managed to optimise vessel voyages and port calls – reducing fuel cost and emissions. But even with so many vessels participating, the number of times ships would meet each other physically would have been rather limited. With the help of the simulator network, they met virtually, giving researchers the opportunity to collect more data faster.

from other vessels during autonomous navigation. The IntelliTug project enhances the tug masters’ capabilities through heightened situational awareness and eases the task of addressing other complex demands they may face.

Alexander Ozersky, Deputy General Manager of Intelligent Systems, Wärtsilä Voyage, explains: “Every system separately was complex, and once you connect them it was going to be even more challenging. We took the decision to try and debug all the pieces in the simulation using the actual control and a mathematical model of the engine. From an engineering perspective, we saved a huge amount of time, making quick mistakes as cheaply and as safely as possible.”

Testing the integration of systems on an autonomous vessel is one thing; providing the systems involved with the intelligence to make decisions in complex marine environments is another challenge entirely. Here, the capability to simulate scenarios is just one building block. Another necessary foundation is the ability for systems to learn from experience.

It is a challenge that Wärtsilä has already addressed in its Advanced Intelligent Manoeuvring (AIM) function, part of its package of artificial intelligence tools. AIM is a track prediction system and anti-collision support tool designed to improve situational awareness and reduce the probability of officer inattention or poor judgement leading to an incident. It anticipates that vessels will move in compliance with collision regulations, but also needs to account for how humans interpret those regulations in various situations.

“Interpretation depends on context,” says Ozersky. “The acceptable distance between vessels is one example. Less than one mile would be unusual in open water but very normal in a harbour.”

8 Solent University, Southampton

SIMULATION MEETS MACHINE LEARNING The artificial intelligence for AIM and other products – including Wärtsilä’s Vessel Traffic Services for managing traffic in ports – needs to absorb the habits of local traffic and refine its simulations based on its observation of how vessels actually move. So far, the system has collected data on traffic movements at several ports. With each new set of data, the simulations become more realistic.

This combination of simulation and machine learning will be critical in controlling autonomous vessels. It is already available in decision-support software today and is being trialled in autonomous navigation systems. Before it is let loose on a wider scale, there are many problems to be solved.

Among these are the ways in which autonomous vessels interact with other automated systems that do not follow similar protocols – let alone the even less predictable ways in which manned craft may respond to autonomous ships.

Neil Bennett concludes: “Our simulation technologies are providing researchers with a platform to run these studies, and we are constantly being challenged by the need to advance our technology further. We can already do a lot with the technologies we have, and we are evolving products to meet the needs of future autonomous vessel systems.”

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

SEPTEMBER 2020 | 11

EEDI SPECIAL

STORM BREWS OVER EEDI MINIMUM POWER REQUIREMENTS In severe sea states, EEDI’s minimum power requirements potentially create a risk that a ship may not be able to make enough way through the water to maintain steerage “and then you are in trouble,” warned Philip Holt, a naval architect at MAN Energy Solutions Speaking to The Motorship, he said that before EEDI was proposed, this was not a concern because sufficient power for heavy seas would have been installed, but shipowners are worried about “what will actually happen when EEDI effectively reduces the [ship’s] power.”

He referred to an IMO circular, MEPC.1/Circ.850/Rev.2, that was issued in August 2017, which sets out interim guidelines for determining minimum propulsion power to maintain manoeuvrability of ships in adverse conditions. It refers specifically to bulk carriers, tankers and combination carriers and Mr Holt drew attention to its data for ships less than 200m long, for which it identifies a wind speed of 15.7m/ sec as representing the ‘adverse conditions’ that should be designed for.

This equates to Force 7 on the Beaufort scale and designers will specify a ship’s propulsion and propeller to provide a minimum of four knots in those conditions. In more severe conditions, the ship will achieve less than this perhaps 1.5-2.0 knots in a Force 8 “and you will just be lying still in Force 9”, he said. Anything less than 4 knots will not generate steerage from the rudder, he said.

Mr Holt also suggested that the guideline’s emphasis on minimum power focuses on the wrong parameter; “it’s more a question of minimum torque,” he said, with “adequate torque reserve in the engine design ... [and] adequate propeller light running margins.”

The guideline is up for review, however, and was on the agenda for the delayed MEPC 75 that was to be held in early April. Two proposals were up for discussion and he welcomed that opportunity to update the interim guideline and to make it permanent.

Concerns such as these led MAN Energy Solutions to develop what it calls adverse weather condition (AWC) functionality for its diesel engines and it published a paper on its website in mid-June called Adverse weather condition functionality and minimum propulsion power.

It introduction says that AWC will extend an engine’s load diagram for as long as required in an emergency to increase the engine’s heavy running capability. This, it says, will increase the ship’s minimum forward speed without requiring an increase in the engine power installed.

When vessels powered by two-stroke engines and fixedpitch propellers experience added resistance in adverse weather, the torque required to maintain rpm increases; the paper compares it with a cyclist encountering a hill. In harsh situations, this torque can increase beyond the engine’s limits, the paper says.

AWC builds on MAN Energy Solutions’ existing Dynamic Limiter Function (DLF) which enables a derated engine to accelerate through its barred speed range, which was otherwise a challenge for EEDI-optimised svessels because shipyards were fitting larger and heavier propellers and thus increasing engine torque.

DLF allows the engine and propeller to follow their bollard

12 | SEPTEMBER 2020

pull curve without waiting for the vessel itself to accelerate, Mr Holt explained, and this same effect is used in the AWC. The paper says that it “enables the engine to follow the bollard pull curve up to 80% power and 80% rpm, working at 100% mean effective pressure in this point.” It explains that “this ensures that 80% of the SMCR [specified maximum continuous rating] power is available during encounters of adverse weather conditions.”

The paper is aimed at shipyards, Mr Holt said. Although its licensees are responsible for producing its engines, it is shipyards, along with shipowners, who select which engine will be installed in a newbuilding and MAN Energy Solutions believes that an engine using its AWC can help a vessel with less power to be safe when manoeuvring in harsh weather, making it an attractive choice.

Speaking to The Motorship in mid-July, Mr Holt said that, of all the papers he had released over the years, this one has prompted the most questions in the first four weeks of its publication. This is because, he said, it addresses the challenge he outlined at the start of this article: that having reduced engine power, “if you don’t do anything else, you might have a problem maintaining adequate speed in adverse weather.”

8 Heavy weather presents a challenge to derated propulsion systems

‘‘

[Rather than minimum power] it’s more a question of minimum torque, with adequate torque reserve in the engine design... [and] adequate propeller light running margins For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

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EEDI SPECIAL

EEDI THREATENS VLCCS’ FUTURE, INTERTANKO WARNS

image: DSIC

Intertanko paints a bleak picture for tankers under current EEDI plans, in which flaws in the IMO’s initial EEDI baseline could imperil VLCCs as a vessel type

“VLCCs may fall out of use in favour of smaller tankers,” Intertanko told the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), which it invited “to note the inherent consequences which may eliminate the VLCC design which is the most fuel and energy efficient ship type ever built.”

That stark warning was contained in the preamble to a submission it made to MEPC 75, which was due to meet in the first few days of April, and reflects the organisation’s significant concerns about the impact of EEDI Phase 3 if it comes into effect as planned in 2025.

Its full argument and supporting data can be found online in the IMODOCS database as document MEPC 75/6/4, but the organisation’s technical director Dragos Rauta outlined his concerns to The Motorship, saying that they stem from IMO’s initial EEDI baseline, which he described as a theoretical “line in the sand”.

It was based on data from tankers of all sizes was “not mathematically drawn” and does not necessarily reflect reality, he said. Intertanko’s submission to MEPC 75 summarises its analysis by saying that, in order to have a single line covering the full range of tanker sizes, “the baseline was originally drawn below the average of the existing ships in the VLCC size range.”

Mr Rauta compared the situation with that of container ships, saying that the base line for similar sized vessels was set 2.5 times higher than for VLCCs, yet they had the potential to reduce their EEDI simply by reducing speed, which demonstrates that “EEDI is an artificial concept”.

He was not impressed, either, with the potential of wind assistance, referring to the 300,000dwt VLCC New Vitality, which was fitted with two sails and delivered by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation of China in November 2018 to China Merchants Energy Shipping.

According to a presentation in September 2019 by Dalian’s head of R&D Peng Guisheng, without the sails, the ship’s EEDI would be 19.5% below IMO’s baseline, meeting EEDI Phase 1,

14 | SEPTEMBER 2020

8 The benefits of wind assistance depend on its routeing

and 21.1% below the line with the sails in use, which meets Phase 2. However, Mr Peng’s presentation noted that “the calculated EEDI contribution of wind propulsion system closely depends on the routes selected,” claiming that on selected routes, the ship’s EEDI could be 35.5% below the baseline, which would meet Phase 3 requirements.

Mr Rauta acknowledged that in some circumstances the sails may deliver a useful benefit, “but that’s occasional and is not stable,” he said. Nonetheless, China Merchants placed orders in May this year for two more VLCCs, one to be fitted with four sails and the other to use air lubrication.

Even bulk carriers enjoy a better deal that tankers, Mr Rauta suggested. Following an initiative from Brazil, the baseline for bulk carriers has been adjusted so that its value is constant above a particular deadweight, but this would not work for tankers, he said, because the wide variety of tanker sizes would make it difficult to set a similar inflection point on the baseline.

Having presented it with the prospect of VLCCs becoming unviable, he hopes IMO will be willing look for a solution. Its paper to MEPC 75 concludes by saying that “it may not be reasonable to expect VLCCs to achieve Phase 3 with a safe level of minimum power, prior to the switch to alternative fuels,” but says that Intertanko “does not propose a modification of the EEDI Phase 3 requirements.”

It does not, however, propose a solution to this situation.

“Although the initial intent of this analysis was to consider suggestions for possible changes ... Intertanko members concluded that it is up to designers and builders to provide compliant as well as safe ships,” it says.

But this is not the end of the story. “We’re going to do to do more work on it and see what can be done without altering the altering the regulations,” Mr Rauta said, explaining that the paper was intended to inform IMO of the potential situation “so it does not come as a surprise to IMO in a couple of years.”

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EEDI SPECIAL

EEDI PHASE 3 WILL PUSH DUAL-FUEL OR NOVEL SOLUTIONS

Image: Sovcomflot

Dual-fuel engines will be essential to meet EEDI Phase 3 when it comes into force for tankers and bulk carriers, Rudolf Wettstein, general manager for marketing and application in WinGD’s sales and marketing team, suggested to The Motorship

To meet that ambition with the equivalent diesel engine would require the ship’s designers to find additional solutions, such as reducing their ship’s power demand, optimising its auxiliary power generation - for example by using PTO arrangements - or applying other power-saving technologies.

Even battery hybrid installations could form part of future energy-saving initiatives on large bulk carriers and tankers, said Dr German Weisser, senior advisor emissions, research and development at the engine designer, who reported that the company is “investigating the possibilities of applying such concepts to a variety of different vessel types.”

Such installations are becoming common in smaller vessels with medium-speed main engines and Dr Weisser agreed that “bulkers and tankers may have less potential” than those to benefit from hybrid arrangements, “but ultimately, whatever helps, helps,” he said. The project’s initial focus is on smaller ships for which manoeuvring is a priority - such as mid size car carriers and chemical tankers rather than VLCCs - “but it can expand into that area,” Mr Wettstein said. Neither executive would speculate on a timetable for that development, however.

LNG carrier designers are also incorporating some innovative energy-saving features as a result of EEDI compliance. Unlike tankers and bulkers, LNG carriers will have to meet Phase 3 standards in 2022 and some are being fitted with energy-saving technologies in readiness.

Mr Wettstein mentioned two in particular, noting that some South Korean yards are offering air lubrication as an option for such ships, saying that their twin screw stern shape

16 | SEPTEMBER 2020

8 LNG-fuelling, such as on the 113,170dwt crude oil tanker Gagarin Prospect, will be essential to meet EEDI Phase 3

leads to them having wide and flat bottoms, which makes them particularly suited to benefit from that technology.

Some LNG carriers are also now being ordered with PTO power generation installations rather than auxiliary generators to take advantage of the main engine’s lower fuel consumption and reduce their EEDI. From an economic point of view, low-speed PTOs can be an expensive option, Mr Wettstein said, but “shipyards want to offer a drop in EEDI.” BARRED SPEED RANGE Concerns about operating low speed engines in their barred speed range - at which there is a risk of harmful torsional vibrations - is often raised in discussions about meeting EEDI by reducing speed, but WinGD believes there are simple ways to avoid the problem.

Mr Wettstein acknowledged that this has been a problem in the past, with some engines taking minutes to accelerate through that range, but now most shipyards have found they can tune a propulsion system so that its barred speed range is towards the low end of the speed range, allowing the engine to accelerate through it in about 20 seconds.

In fact, the problem may be eliminated altogether by arranging the right combination of mass moment of inertia on the propeller and propeller shaft, along with tuning the flywheel and perhaps adding a torsional vibration damper, he added.

That is not to say that engine designers have not contributed anything to this achievement. “We have raised our overload limits slightly to make a bigger reserve [in the low speed range],” he said, but it is its engine builders that

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

EEDI SPECIAL

EEDI HAS HAD ITS DAY EEDI is “coming to the end of its useful lifetime,” believes German Weisser, senior advisor emissions, research and development at enginebuilder WinGD. Stressing that his remarks reflected only his personal view, he said that IMO should instead devote more time to its broader strategy to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs), he told The Motorship.

In its initial phase, EEDI had been valuable in creating awareness in the industry about energy efficiency and its impact on addressing GHG emissions, he said, but now “it is my firm opinion that ... we need to focus more on those aspects that bring larger contributions” to tackling concerns about GHG “and move away from looking into design criteria, which we cannot expect to contribute significantly anymore.”

One specific concern he mentioned is that “any impact of alternative fuels cannot be modelled into an EEDI concept very clearly.” Although the index includes a factor related to fuel type - for LNG the figure is 2.75 and for diesel fuel it is 3.1 - Dr Weisser said that if a ship were to use synthetic methane, “you cannot show this in its EEDI or EEXI because your engine can always run either on the fossil fuel or on the renewable fuel.”

The only way for renewable fuels to be reflected in a ship’s EEDI would be to design it to use a particular renewable fuel exclusively, with no ability to run on a backup fuel when the renewable fuel is not available. “I don’t think that we’re going to see this until renewable fuels become available worldwide in abundant quantities,” he said.

Image: WinGD

carry out the torsional vibration calculations and liaise with shipyards to implement their recommendations.

Instead of EEDI, he would prefer to see an operational parameter used, such as IMO’s voluntary Energy Efficiency Operational Index (EEOI).

He is not alone in supporting EEOI; in its latest annual sustainability report, published earlier this year, the major tanker operator AP Moller Maersk reported that in 2019 it had begun using EEOI as its preferred indicator to track its CO₂ reduction target. By using an indicator “based on our actual operational performance, the result is more accurate data”, its report says. Because of this policy, it has restated its data going back to 2008 and suggests that EEOI “become[s] the indicator to be used to measure progress on the IMO efficiency targets.”

8 Dual-fuel engines such as this WinGD 12X92DF will be needed for tankers and bulk carriers to meet EEDI Phase 3

with electric and hybrid technologies Green ship technology

Innovative design

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SEPTEMBER 2020 | 17

EEDI SPECIAL

NEW SOLUTIONS NEEDED FOR VLOC BULKERS TO MEET EEDI

Image: Wärtsilä/Oshima

All but the largest bulk carriers designs can mostly meet EEDI Phase 3 requirements “without major changes”, believes Johnny Kackur, business development manager at Wärtsilä Marine Solutions

However, “some more major changes [will] apply for larger ships especially those over250.000dwt,” He predicted, but was confident that Wärtsilä “has technologies suitable for meeting requirements beyond EEDI phase 3.”

He was part of the project team behind Wärtsilä’s Ultramax 2030 bulk carrier design that was unveiled in October 2019 as a result of a joint project with Oshima Shipbuilding and DNV GL. The concept includes a sail, solar panels and batteries among its energy-saving features, and he told The Motorship that its study “demonstrates that we have existing and well demonstrated technologies available for further improvement.”

Alongside those technologies, another major change to conventional bulk carrier design could be a switch to LNGfuelled propulsion using “new-generation propulsion machinery” along with shaft generators, which would make it possible to achieve “further reduction without reducing the service speed from today´s standard,” he said.

That propulsion machinery could be either low-speed twostroke dual-fuel engines connected to fixed-pitch propellers, or medium-speed four-stroke engines; the Ultramax concept has been developed to suit either option, said Wärtsilä Marine Solutions’ chief expert on environmental expertise, Heikki Korpi. For both arrangements, Wärtsilä predicts an EEDI for the ship 46% less than Phase 0 levels, which exceeds the 30% reduction set for EEDI phase 3 from 2025.

Mr Korpi told The Motorship that the medium-speed multiengine configuration based on Wärtsilä´s new-generation medium-speed engines with two-stage turbochargers and controllable-pitch propellers (CPPs) could be more efficient than a low-speed installation, but it would depend on the ship’s operating conditions: the benefits would come if there are opportunities to optimise the engines load range when less power is required.

In his comments, Mr Kackur said that using CPPs would ensure that “we will never over-load the main engine in any operating condition” and said that there is also a possibility to increase propeller efficiency with a CPP, because of its smaller propeller margin.

18 | SEPTEMBER 2020

8 Innovative concepts exist to help bulk carriers meet EEDI Phase 3

While these concepts will all help reduce EEDI, another Wärtsilä initiative that will reduce fuel consumption is not recognised by IMO’s formula Mr Korpi said. He would welcome changes to the calculation to recognise its benefits but “sometimes existing regulation is not able to acknowledge the benefits of new innovations,” he added.

The technology recovers volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from oil cargoes during loading and unloading and was first applied in 2018 on a shuttle tanker operated by Teekay, which jointly worked with Wärtsilä on its development.

According to a Wärtsilä publication at the time, a conventional shuttle tanker releases large amounts of VOCs into the atmosphere during loading and transportation of crude oil.

“Studies estimate that about 3,300 tonnes is released into the atmosphere, yearly, for every offshore loading [location].”

This is recovered and stored as gas and liquid, with the gas being used to fuel a steam turbine, but the liquid VOCs can be added to LNG and used in dual-fuel engines. This improves a ship’s overall efficiency, but it is not reflected in its EEDI calculation, Mr Korpi said. When new technologies are developed, “it’s a challenge for the regulators to create ways to take them into account.”

The next steps of EEDI are under discussion in an IMO correspondence group but any changes it introduces would be too late to have an impact in the near future, he said. As for VOC emissions, these form part of IMO’s greenhouse gas strategy and as soon as the main short term GHG measures have been agreed, “feasible ways of acknowledging this, together with other new energy saving technologies in the EEDI calculation, should be taken under discussion,” he added.

‘‘

Wärtsilä predicts an EEDI for the ship 46% less than Phase 0 levels, which exceeds the 30% reduction set for EEDI phase 3 from 2025 For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

EEDI SPECIAL

EEDI WILL ENCOURAGE ALTERNATIVE PROPULSION TECHNOLOGIES

Image: Maersk Tankers

Hybrid and other alternative propulsion systems for bulk carriers and tankers could be one outcome from the difficulties these two ship types face in meeting upcoming EEDI Phase 3 standards, believes Rolf Stiefel, the Hamburg-based regional chief executive for class society Bureau Veritas.

Because of their high block coefficients, hydrodynamic options to improve their efficiency are limited without having an impact on their cargo capacity, which would itself have an adverse effect on EEDI. Instead, ducts and other flow improving devices, together with a focus on propeller design, are among the options likely to become popular.

He also expects to see more interest in technologies such as wind assistance, citing the experimental Norsepower Flettner rotors that were fitted to the 109,647dwt product tanker Maersk Pelican in August 2018 and which Maersk Tankers’ chief technical officer, Tommy Thomassen, said in a webinar in June this year had made a valuable impact on fuel consumption.

A key consideration is to reduce the installed power, so there are likely to be more integrated generators in the shaft line to generate auxiliary power more efficiently, which will reduce the ship’s EEDI. If these are combined with a battery energy storage

reserve, these generators could be used as motors to provide additional power in adverse conditions, he said.

Hybridisation “is a highly probable way” of balancing what he described as the

Turbo Cadiz HP Sept 2020.indd 1

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

8 Flettner rotors and other novel technologies could help tankers and bulkers meet EEDI targets

contradictory demands of minimum power requirements for safety while reducing installed power to meet EEDI targets, he said.

21/08/2020 09:28

SEPTEMBER 2020 | 19

AUTONOMY & DIGITALISATION

AUTONOMOUS SHIPS TO OVERHAUL LOGISTICS MODELS

Image: ASKO Maritime

Autonomous shortsea and feeder distribution could disrupt hub-and-spoke logistics, Stevie Knight hears

As Eero Lehtovaara of ABB says, when it comes to autonomy, “one size does NOT fit all”. He adds: “I don’t see the driver for crewless operations on ships above 2,000dwt... where the technology is steadily moving toward decision support activities, rather than unmanned operations”.

But, it’s a very different picture for domestic traffic - cable and road ferries, for example. “Those will be the first to be unmanned or highly automated,” says Lehtovaara. “And as they will be operating under one flag, they can go ahead with no need for changes at IMO.” Despite a few initial stumbles, it appears developments are now picking up speed.

Take, for example, Norway’s largest grocery wholesaler, ASKO. Two 67m long electric ferries (to be built at the Cochin shipyard) will improve the company’s logistics operation by connecting the ports of Moss and Horten on opposite sides of the Oslo Fjord, replacing 150 daily truck runs.

A pair of twin battery installations totalling 1,846-kWh give the vessels a pretty large redundant power margin. Although there are two hours to recharge at each end of the transit, each ship could complete a day’s operation on a full charge “with no top-up”, says Pia Meling of Massterly: that’s four, 8kn 15km crossings. But even so, an emergency UPS will also be installed above the main deck, complete with electric and fire isolation.

However, the Oslo Fjord is quite a busy area, so communication is the other part of the picture. The remote operations centre onshore, manned by Massterly, will keep up a continuous watch over the vessels “and will be able to call up other vessels and talk to them,” says Meling. It helps that their entire route is within the Horten VTS control area and covered by GSM 4G (4G+, and later 5G) public mobile telephone networks. “This should be sufficient for communication with external antennas,” she says, adding that Kongsberg’s private network - Maritime Broadband Radio - will be established as a back-up.

Despite the apparent novelty, it’s not a huge technology

20 | SEPTEMBER 2020

8 ASKO’s two 67m long ‘autobarges’ will connect the ports of Moss and Horten, replacing 150 daily truck runs

leap argues Lehtovaara: recognition systems with enough intelligence to avoid other marine traffic have already been developed and utilised by minor autonomous surface craft for a while. As a result, he says that smaller cargo and road ferries “are not much more than horizontal elevators”, with about as much need for manning.

Further, safety could actually benefit from low-level autonomy: “Operating this kind of ferry is dangerously boring,” he says: “Better to let a machine do it.” While deviations from the routine need to be defined and discussed, answers could be relatively simple: a full blackout may just mean dropping anchor and sending a distress signal to the maritime rescue centre. If it’s a short inland hop, “it might even be the local fire brigade that responds”, adds Lehtovaara.

But the most exciting possibilities are not single-vendor owned and various business cases are emerging to correct what Ørnulf Jan Rødseth of SINTEF describes as a fundamental problem: “Ships generally carry cargo from where it isn’t supposed to be, to where it’s not wanted.”

Therefore, a number of studies are looking at filling in the missing leg; a role currently taken by trucks at the cost of a far heavier ecological footprint.

One such Scandinavian investigation, lead by North Sea Container Line in cooperation with SINTEF and the Port of Trondheim, is looking at cargo shuttles to link coastal and rural or urban destinations “as currently, containerships lose about five hours sailing crossing the fjords” he explains.

However, any answer “has to be fully automated or, the personnel costs are prohibitive”, says Rødseth. That might not be significant for a long run “but for shorter distances, it’s a bigger proportion of the total”, he says, adding that one study on a bulk carrier showed that each transhipment point “lost about 5% of the total value of the cargo”.

Most interestingly, these studies have also looked at optimal vessel size - and the conclusions turn the ‘economies of scale’ argument on its head.

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

“If we split the cargo into 10 or 15 teu units - putting them on smaller, 30m or 40m vessels - we can take it right into the city centre,” Rødseth explains. That turns out to give the route a significant cost advantage. He adds: “It would also suit small to medium-sized manufacturing clusters.”

Altering typical feeder patterns could trigger a cascade of changes. Another SINTEF/NTNU study for shortsea and coastal shipping which looked at 80m vessels covering a couple of hundred kilometres suggested this kind of operation could run regularly - if it was to accept partially filled slots: the anathema of bigger ships.

Despite half-capacity loading, the answer was potentially 40% more cost-effective than traditional alternatives, especially if tied in with other changes. Therefore the report also suggested adapting vessels’ hydrodynamics to avoid ‘boundary speed’ impacts, which raise water resistance sharply, the answer being “new more slender designs”.

It can lead to further form changes. The writers go on to say: “The autonomous variants of the concepts do not have a traditional bridge superstructure...[but] the ship is equipped with sensors”. It stopped short of totally crewless vessels (dropping crew from seven to two) but also established that removing the superstructure would allow for increased capacity.

Interestingly, ship shape has also been a concern for the ASKO vessels. It’s a controlled operation and will be able to avoid too many variations, but still, with a full load of 16 trailers, total deck cargo will average around 450t, so utilising battery power alone means energy efficiency is a concern, says Meling. A reasonably sheltered route helps, “it allows a very simple, but efficient design with a 15m beam, and a shallow draft of only 1.7m”, she explains, “so the vessels will be able to sail four hours at 8 knots, consuming under 1,600kW of energy”.

Further, it’s notable that while these two ships will have a bridge to allow for initially manned operation, it seems this will likely be dispensed with on future vessels.

There are further benefits to automation, adds Rødseth: “If you can load directly onto the vessel, then you can save double handling costs and time,” he points out. This also means other patterns of operation might suit different scenarios: “You could leave a dumb barge in position to fill up, and then move it with a pusher tug.”

HANDLING However, you can’t easily mix autonomous operation with people, so that means auto-mooring and remote/intelligent container handling inside a restricted zone has to be part of the solution. The technology is already mature, and so is the safety aspect, he points out: “It’s been done for a long time at the big automated terminals.”

But it requires scaling down. Again, there is another kind of

Image: ABB

AUTONOMY & DIGITALISATION

8 Just smart enough. Smaller cargo and road ferries “are not much more than horizontal elevators”, says Eero Lehtovaara of ABB

‘boundary effect’ noted by Rødseth: he points out that the landside handling - the sticking point for the Yara Birkland project - can be one of the most expensive elements.

Once again, small is beautiful: reduce the individual container or parcel weight to below 25t and move back from 40ft to 20ft standard containers “and you can keep the parameters down for the cranes and so on, gaining a significant cost efficiency on the quayside investment”, he explains.

It’s a transferable model with a broader application. Another case study, led by DFDS, is looking into linking ro-ro shortsea services across the Benelux region with inland waterway barges, rather than trucking the trailers to and from the harbour, says Rødseth. Interestingly, the ASKO vessels have decided on this approach, using ro-ro trailers rather than craning containers on and off. But ASKO has also decided to eventually make these terminal tractor operations autonomous, says Meling, adding that there’s a plethora of autonomous truck projects from big manufacturers already underway.

However, the concept might prove useful in other scenarios; Rødseth points out: “For example, big ports like Busan in Korea are built outside the city, so they have to move containers 40 or 50km to the urban population... but if they could travel inward this way, it would save road emissions.”

Despite this, when it comes to passenger-carrying vessels, there’s also the “social license” to consider, says Lehtovaara: “How do you feel about a crossing on a completely automatic, unmanned ferry?”

However, minds can change. Autonomous ferries could prove a saviour for remote industrial clusters and communities threatened by port closure or relocation - take Trondheim, where the cost of prime coastal real estate is rocketing and the port may simply be priced out of business.

Usefully, the ASKO vessels are showing it’s possible to operate “within the existing rules” says Meling. “We don’t have a new framework; we are proving ‘equivalence’ inside the current local and international, IMO regulations.”

Image: ASKO Maritime

8 Utilising battery power alone means energy efficiency is a concern for autonomy, therefore hull forms also require attention

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

SEPTEMBER 2020 | 21

AUTONOMY & DIGITALISATION

TAKING ENGINE CONTROL THAT BIT FURTHER

22 | SEPTEMBER 2020

8 The first successful trial of the SmartDock Inset: Augumented reality glasses enable onshore control centres to have the same visual image as the crew member

system (IAS), with “additional sensors, advanced alarms, closedcircuit television surveillance, cameras to show navigation and so on”.

The array is very high tech, but the support goes one step further. Augmented Reality (AR) glasses are fast becoming cheaper, better, and more readily available. As Vartdal relates, “the onshore control centre will have the same visual image as the onboard crew member, so you can guide them, ‘look at this, check that’...”

There are more advantages to this than just convenient working patterns. Although this pilot initially controls just one vessel, it is designed to handle three at once: the idea is that if there are simultaneous issues the on-duty engineer can call for assistance.

Not only could this make the work more collaborative “but the quality of the response does depend on a breadth of experience, something that can be missing from a long-term position onboard a single ship”, Vartdal explains. “However, if

8 The ROMAS project took a modern hybrid ro-ro ferry operating on the 35-minute crossing between Molde and Vestnes, and moved the engine room ashore

Image: DNV GL

Early enthusiasts predicted an ‘autonomy stairway’, stepping neatly from intelligent systems to remote control, and onward to unmanned ships. Others weren’t convinced, and believed that after a flush of interest, it would all be quietly dropped. Instead, diverse elements appear to be growing roots into mainstream operations - and these are intersecting with another relative newcomer: batteries.

Short-hop autonomous vessels will likely be electrical “as it’s a good solution for mitigating the requirements for maintenance, and improving the robustness of the propulsion solution”, says Bjorn Johan Vartdal of DNV GL. However, there are practical limits to how far batteries can propel even a modestly sized cargo vessel.

It leaves short-sea shipping between a rock and a hard place. On one hand their duty cycles generally don’t allow picking up an easy recharge, but these ships still spend “a lot more time” in restricted-emission, coastal areas than long haul vessels, points out Eero Lehtovaara of ABB. And, of course, air pollution is a particularly sensitive subject for city ports.

Therefore, many short-sea ships will likely choose a battery and combustion engine pairing, allowing limited emission-free running with enough onboard grunt for higher-power operations. But, as Lehtovaara points out, “both two-stroke engines and four-stroke gensets will continue to need attention”.

Moreover, as Vartdal comments, hybrids are “very advanced, coupled systems”. In short, out goes the relatively simple topology of either batteries or combustion engines: in come a number of multilayered problems.... Unsurprisingly, “there can be reliability issues”, adds Vartdal.

All this has a knock-on effect on what’s being asked of the crew. “Along with combined energy sources, new fuels and new types of system, there will be a requirement for new skill sets,” he says. “It would be difficult to have expertise onboard for each discipline, but you could have a spread of competencies onshore.”

This is the pathway explored by the ROMAS (remote operation of machinery and automation systems) project, a partnership including Høglund Automation, Fjord1, the Norwegian Maritime Authority and DNV GL. It’s taken a modern dual-fuel, hybrid ro-ro ferry operating on the 35-minute crossing between Molde and Vestnes, and simply moved the engine control room ashore. This, claims Vartdal’s colleague, Steinar Låg, results in operations which “can be implemented with a safety level the same, or better, than today”.

The Engine Control Centre (ECC) at Fjord1’s office in Molde sees the role of chief engineer being taken by an operator with monitoring and control oversight of all the onboard propulsion and auxiliary machinery - though, says Vartdal, “it’s been arranged so you see more from the control centre than from a typical engine room”. He explains there’s been an upgrade from Høglund’s existing integrated automation

Image: Wärtsilä

Short-sea engine rooms may be looking at an interesting blend of onboard crew and supported operations, writes Stevie Knight

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

AUTONOMY & DIGITALISATION

COMMUNICATIONS However, communication is the big stumbling block. The Fannefjord route is only about 15km and within range for 4G signals, but many short-sea ships will be looking at longer routes. And there, “connectivity might be more of a challenge”, admits Vartdal. “You need a far more robust communication system than you’d normally have onboard.”

When out of 4G range, it’s down to satellites - and there are issues. It’s not distance: “Latency causes far more trouble for autonomous navigation,” he explains. A short lag isn’t usually critical when it comes to the engine room as machinery data loads are fairly low. Further, if a system needs to shut down very quickly, it will be flagged up and initiated onboard.

“While delay is not such a big problem, losing connectivity completely is,” underlines Vartdal. It’s a conundrum: there are mitigation strategies for many potentially damaging, but identifiable incidents - however, it’s much harder to deal with a blank screen.

Risk mitigation therefore involves “procedural” fallback, he explains. A wide range of normal and abnormal operations, conditions and scenarios have been mapped out during the ROMAS project, establishing a division of responsibility between the engine control centres and onboard crew, says Låg.

But what does this mean for longer runs or those just falling outside 4G range? Well, until the communication systems are completely robust, it does mean that the crew will need to be able to go it alone, as any signal loss will hand over engine room command from the shore to the onboard personnel. So if there’s any chance at all that the ‘multiskilled seafarer’ will have to take control, they’d better be trained for it.

While it is possible to utilise transmitter posts, “you don’t want to have to put up dedicated data connection points along all the routes”, says Vartdal. However, he adds that time will likely solve the issue: “As connectivity gets more developed, it will probably gain an increase in reliability.”

Despite this, “we will see remote engine rooms relatively soon”, predicts Vartdal, “most are unmanned a lot of the time, so we are just moving control a bit further away”.

Image: Wärtsilä

you are attending multiple vessels, you get a range of challenges, and that grows both competence and confidence.”

So, what of the onboard crew? While there are requirements for ro-ro ferry manning levels that leave the overall crew numbers on the Fannefjord ferry unchanged, Låg explains the engineering role is being replaced by that of a “multiskilled seafarer”. However, if applied to cargo vessels, (which have different requirements), this system could reduce the overall onboard personnel.

situational awareness, arguably its biggest effect is on the power plant.

Maintaining efficiency across the characteristically long, shallow water approaches of short-hop and short-sea operations can require extended, minute acceleration control.

So, automating the transit could do more than iron out the distinctions between new and experienced drivers, as it also promises something far more valuable: power predictability.

“Maritime applications, more than any other industry, have a very wide range in how a battery is used,” says Ben Gully of LAVLE. “The primary challenge is to make sure the ship’s high-level control system is able to optimise how much and when it charges and discharges the battery.”

It can get tricky: there can be differences of opinion between the automated systems. Vartdal explains: “For example, the engine sends out a power demand, but the battery wants to protect itself... if these don’t agree, it can result in a shutdown.”

As Gully points out, “predictability enables better design and control” of the onboard energy topology, a significant benefit for advanced hybrids.

Therefore, transit automation should give engineers, yards, and system integrators firmer numbers to work with, closing at least some of the loop on what can be lengthy, iterative plant development.

It will also make for more consistent operational parameters - and lower the risk of a power outage.

So, while it can’t account for dynamic environments, voyage automation could begin to narrow output estimations for each mode or phase, promising clearer oversight, greater safety... and a longer plant life.

8 Automating transits promises something arguably more valuable than crew support: power predictability

8 SmartDock screenshot, showing speed, heading, distance to berth, and automatic track

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

Image: Wärtsilä

ONBOARD SUPPORT There is another option that doesn’t require shoreside connectivity, as the ‘brain’ is onboard. Wärtsilä’s SmartDock is, despite its name, more than a berthing system as it can kick in during transit, taking over thrusters and other engine room functions along with the navigation. At heart it’s a dynamic positioning spin-off, says Thomas Pedersen: “We’ve been delivering offshore DP systems for years, so that’s given us the base capability we need to move a ship from pier to pier.”

Having said that, there have been changes to the sensors and controller logic; there are complex hydrodynamic aspects from proximity to the quayside, effects that don’t turn up in offshore applications.

However, it’s worth noting this isn’t autonomy as such, as it’s more about tracking points through a (robust) mixture of GPS and LiDAR. Interestingly, while the automatic navigation will enable safer manoeuvring as it frees the crew up to concentrate on

SEPTEMBER 2020 | 23

AUTONOMY & DIGITALISATION

ONE SEA REDEFINES THE AUTONOMOUS SHIP AGENDA Ship autonomy tests show that a range of technologies can do the job, but clear definitions of different levels of automation, standards and regulations are urgently needed

8 One Sea, an ecosystem of technology heavyweights, is calling for clear definitions of different levels of automation, standards and regulations

Päivi Haikkola, together with her colleague Jukka Merenluoto, head up the day-to-day operations of One Sea - an expanding ecosystem of technology heavyweights including ABB, Cargotec, Ericsson, Kongsberg and Wärtsilä.

Established in 2016, One Sea now has 12 full members, having welcomed two additional new members, earlier this year. Others are waiting to sign up, Haikkola says.

Various successful pilot projects in autonomous ship operation have been completed. In fact, although digital developments continue to advance exponentially, Haikkola says we already have the technologies needed to turn pilots into working projects. She sees the main issues now as defining different levels of automation and other automation related technology, having industry-wide standards and, perhaps most importantly, the development of a regulatory framework at the IMO for global trade.

To demonstrate that shipping’s technology leaders have already developed many of the systems that will be required for autonomous operation, Haikkola lists some of the projects. The world’s first example of remote vessel operation took place in Copenhagen three years ago, she recalls.

SUCCESSFUL PILOTS Rolls-Royce and global towage operator, Svitzer A/S, demonstrated how a ship master, located at a remotecontrol base in Svitzer’s city headquarters, controlled the 28m tug, Svitzer Hermod, and successfully completed a range of manoeuvres in Copenhagen harbour in 2017.

Later that year, Wärtsilä’s demonstrated how a 4,000dwt platform supply vessel (PSV), Highland Chieftain owned by Gulfmark, could be controlled remotely by a small team of tech-savvy specialists in San Diego, California, as it manoeuvred off the coast of Scotland.

This was the first time that a ship of significant size has been controlled remotely via a standard satellite link, the company claimed. Although the PSV’s master and crew were standing by throughout, their intervention was not needed as

24 | SEPTEMBER 2020

the San Diego team deployed the ship’s dynamic positioning (DP) system to complete manoeuvres in four directions. They then used DP and joystick control to carry out other tests and navigate the vessel on part of her voyage back to Aberdeen.

Then, in 2018, Wärtsilä successfully completed two separate automation tests on board the Folgefonn, a 75-vehicle, 300-passenger ferry which operates between three Norwegian ports in the south of the country. The vessel is operated by one of the country’s largest ferry groups, Norled, which has a fleet of some 80 ferries working on the Norwegian coast.

In the first test, carried out early in 2018 in the presence of the Norwegian Maritime Authority, Wärtsilä technology was tried out successfully in the autodocking of Folgefonn, while the second trial, in November of that year, involved complete autonomous operation of the ferry from dock to dock at each of the three ports on the vessel’s normal service.

There followed tests and demonstrations by both ABB and Rolls-Royce, now owned by Kongsberg, conducted separately in Finnish waters. In November 2018, ABB and Helsinki City Transport successfully remotely controlled the 2004-built ice class passenger ferry, Suomenlinna II, which has an ABB Azipod electric propulsion system and had been retrofitted with ABB Ability Marine Pilot Vision in 2017.

The test was carried out as the ferry left Helsinki’s market square, Kauppatori, and was operated remotely from a control centre in the city. Fully crewed, but with no passengers on board, the successful trial involved navigating the vessel through a pre-defined area of Helsinki harbour.

At about the same time, Rolls-Royce Marine in collaboration with state-owned Finferries, demonstrated a fully autonomous voyage completed successfully by the 54m double-ended car ferry, Falco, between Parainen and Nauvo in Finland. During the ship’s passage, guests and journalists on board were invited to see sensors and cameras enhancing the situational awareness of the crew.

Unlike some of the other pilot tests to date, the vessel used sensor fusion and artificial intelligence to avoid potential

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

AUTONOMY & DIGITALISATION collision hazards en route and manage the automated docking of the ferry, all without human intervention. At the time, the company’s ship autonomy expert, Oskar Levander, said that new guidelines from the IMO on autonomous operation were now needed as a matter of urgency. This is a sentiment fully supported by Haikkola.

DEFINITIONS NEEDED “There are different levels of ship autonomy, a term that covers a range of systems which people see differently,” she says. “Unmanned, autonomous and remote control are all different concepts that need to be defined and agreed.

Unless we are all talking about the same thing, our discussions with other stakeholders will be erratic. We must be clear to prevent misunderstandings.”

Autonomous and related operations, which Haikkola refers to include automated systems to support shipboard operations; autonomous ship operation supported by seagoing personnel (manned autonomous); remote control of assets from other locations; and fully autonomous operations on short defined voyages such as cargo transport between two set points, rather like a pipeline, or ferry trips across a fjord.

She also notes that early pilot tests of new systems on small vessels will continue to be carried out in designated sea areas sea such as Jaakonmeri off the coast of Finland near Turku and similar regions in Norway’s Oslo Fjord, Trondheimsfjord and Sunmøre region. However, testing has now moved to a new level, she says, involving large commercial ships.

Tests on board these vessels should be carried out during

routine operation, Haikkola explains, but with close monitoring by ships’ crews. This is partly to make sure that the systems work successfully in real-life conditions and that the crew can intervene if necessary, but also to enable commercial vessels to continue to operate without delay or deviation.

CREW BENEFITS It is also important for ships’ crews to appreciate the benefits of autonomous operations which, she says, are not intended to replace seafarers, but to support. “The technologies under development currently are in many cases not aimed at reducing seafarer numbers. Digital tools are also intended as a support and an aid to decision-making on board ship,” she explains.

“If you can enhance situation awareness not only with radar but also with lidar, infrared and standard cameras, the seafarer is far better-placed whilst workload is eased and safety enhanced.”

In a ship-shore context, Haikkola kola identifies the key benefits of sensor technology, chnology, enabling shore-based specialists ists to track ship performance data remotely and provide virtual irtual guidance when required. Experts perts can also intervene to assist in fixing problems on board if necessary. y.

“These technologies will benefit everyone in the shipping supply y chain,” Haikkola concludes, “but we urgently need regulations.”

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

8 Päivi Haikkola of One Sea notes that clear definitions of different levels of ship autonomy are required

SEPTEMBER 2020 | 25

RETROFITS & CONVERSIONS

YARDS ANTICIPATE NEW WAVE OF REPAIR AND RETROFIT WORK

Credit: Bernd Flickenschild, Pixabay

Vassilis Vassiliou, ship-repair broker at Interyards in Greece, reflects on the evolving challenges the ship repair sector has overcome since February

“Initially, when China was isolated, both Singapore and the Arabian Gulf faced a massive demand for drydock slots, which was much greater than they were able to accommodate. A few weeks later, European and Turkish shipyards ceased operation, and China has slowly resumed its activities. Nowadays, while China has almost fully recovered from a shortage of manpower, Singapore and the Arabian Gulf are under-performing.” However, given the massive postponements on repairs so far this year, Vassiliou predicts a wave of ship repair work that will fill most yards later this year.

Jad Mouawad, CEO of Mouawad Consulting, which has undertaken over 200 ballast water treatment system retrofits in China, also notes the trend to postpone dockings in February 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions in China.

“However, some shipowners with a strong presence in China took that opportunity and docked even more ships. This docking was almost always accompanied by a retrofit of a ballast water management system and a scrubber.”

There is some activity using riding crews, but Mouawad estimates that over 90 percent of the retrofits are done during drydocking. “There is, as expected, a tangible increase in the quality of the work done by the shipyards. This is mainly due to the good presence of experienced supervisors.”

Sandeep Seth, President Goltens Worldwide, says yards in China are operating at around 70-80 percent capacity, and scrubber retrofits have reduced compared to last year.

However, he notes that last year there were some capacity issues. “While demand for scrubber retrofits have tailed off given the economic climate under which the merchant and offshore segment is operating, resulting in tight cash flow for the owners and imminent need to reduce capex, it has resulted in under-utilised capacity at least in the short to mid

26 | SEPTEMBER 2020

8 The staggered effect of shipyard disruption has created pent-up demand for repair work that will fill most yards later in 2020, according to Jad Mouawad of Mouawad Consulting

term. The other factor contributing to reduced demand is the use of compliant fuel.”

While ballast water treatment system retrofits will continue, the scrubber retrofit demand is not expected to increase exponentially in the short- to mid-term, he says.

“Hence we do not foresee significant capacity issues with Chinese yards. China will continue to be the go-to place, as they are competitive, have the infrastructure and continue to share a large portion of the global docking.”

China’s dominance in the market is being felt in Russia where yards are suffering due to financial restraints, reports analyst PortNews IAA. Yards that specialise in inland vessels can afford to expand, but yards focused on the repair of seagoing vessels are largely working on state-owned vessels that are required to be repaired in Russia. In other cases, shipowners are looking to cheaper, faster foreign yards.

Ship repair and retrofit orders are commonly placed with South Korea or Chinese (for ships operating in the Far Eastern Basin), Norway (Northern Basin) and Turkish (Southern Basin) shipyards, says Nikolay Shablikov, Chairman of the Board, Nordic Engineering JSC, a Russian engineering and consulting bureau. “Over the past 30 years the enterprises in these countries have earned the trust of Russian customers due to shorter contract execution time at a competitive price.”

Shablikov says that the purchase of imported marine

‘‘

Retrofitting all the vessels currently at sea with greener technology is paramount if we want to attain the scale of emission-cutting that is required For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

RETROFITS & CONVERSIONS components constitute up to 70 percent of repair costs, and, in addition to VAT, they are also subject to customs duty, because many manufacturers of imported marine equipment required for outfitting ships were forced to leave the Russian market due to sanctions.

He says competitiveness could be improved by the adoption of a draft law to reduce VAT to zero for Russian shipyards along with targeted support to help yards modernise their production capacities.

Back in Asia, Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad noted that its Marine segment registered lower revenue in the first half of the year than the previous period due to the pandemic. The global slump in LNG demand also had an impact as did competition from China and Singapore. Commenting on the first half results, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Cik Wan Mashitah Wan Abdullah Sani said, “Whilst we have resumed our yard operations from April 2020, our activities are still constrained to the ‘new normal’ with restrictions imposed to ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic is kept under control. We are also vigilant on the happenings around the world, mainly in the countries where we source our supply given the recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases globally, which could have an impact on the progress of our ongoing and bidded projects.” He expects business to remain uncertain for the rest of the year.

Norway-based Newport Shipping is positive about the potential for its turnkey services for LNG conversions which take around 45-60 days. Managing Director Lianghui Xia is confident that conversions using existing technology offer the shipping industry an achievable mid-term solution for

cutting emissions to meet IMO targets. “Retrofitting all the vessels currently at sea with greener technology is paramount if we want to attain the scale of emission-cutting that is required.”

He says that immediate action is needed and that COVID-19 has shown that the world can change rapidly. “If we don’t stay alert and be ready for adaptation we will suffer collectively. The supply disruption brought by a global lockdown has already caused huge suffering to many people both emotionally and economically. So to apply the same logic to the front of environmental protection, we cannot afford the price we have to pay down the road caused by lack of action today.”

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8 The United Shipbuilding Corporation’s Vyborg shipyard is one of the yards in the Russian Federation hoping to benefit from the elimination of VAT on imported components

RETROFITS & CONVERSIONS

DOCK FACILITIES BOOST CAPACITY AND FLEXIBILITY Upgrades to yard facilities are securing greater privacy and boosting capacity

8 Lürssen is investing more than EUR13 million in the upgrade of the Blohm+Voss dock infrastructure in Hamburg by covering the yard’s 287-metre-long floating dock

Lürssen is investing more than EUR13 million in the upgrade of the Blohm+Voss dock infrastructure in Hamburg by covering the yard’s 287-metre-long floating dock. The renovation significantly expands the range of repairs and refit services that can be undertaken, reduces weather dependency, reduces noise and energy consumption and improves working conditions.

The design of the new roof for Dock 10 was conceived by the German architect and engineer Werner Sobek. The translucent membrane of the exterior facade ensures sufficient lighting inside, while in the central area of the north facade, a transparent membrane showcases the dock to the city on the opposite quayside. For more confidential projects, a custom-made drape provides complete privacy.

UK DOCKS has continued to invest in its Teesside ship repair facility with the purchase of two Nelcon dockside cranes from the Port of Workington. Each crane has a safe working load of 30 tonnes at 10 metres and 12 tonnes at 28 metres, and they will support the work of cranes currently in operation. The cranes were fully refurbished in 2009 and represent a major investment in a yard which had lain derelict for more than 30 years before UK Docks brought it back into operation in 2014.

MSC Cruises has taken a 50 percent share in Palumbo Group’s Malta Shipyard. A major upgrade is planned which will have a specialist cruise line focus including technology to allow the servicing and repair of the next generation of LNG powered cruise ships being built for the MSC Cruises’ fleet. The yard has four drydocks and undertakes afloat and ashore repairs.

The largest floating dock in the Baltic States has been

28 | SEPTEMBER 2020

installed at the Western Shipyard owned by BLRT Grupp in Klaipėda port, Lithuania. The 235-meter dock dock has a lifting capacity of 33,000 tons and is suitable for servicing post-Panamax, Panamax and Aframax vessels. It was acquired from the Adriatic Shipyard Bijela in Montenegro and has since been modernised. Another dock is also being acquired from the Riga Shipyard.

Subsea and offshore solutions provider Unique Group has entered into a partnership with floating dry dock innovators, Tugdock, manufacturers of a patented modular floating dry dock concept. Tugdock comes in sizes ranging from 12m x 12m to 100m x 100m with a total lift capacity up to 15,000 tonnes and is transportable in standard shipping containers.

The components can be assembled in customised dimensions to best suit the size and shape of the vessel.

Any normal works that vessels undertake whilst occupying floating dry docks can be conducted, says the company, and lifting time for standard harbour tug is around 30 minutes.

The facility can be moored to a quayside or secured by piles or spud jacking legs. It features a bund wall around the perimeter and has large sump drains with particle filters for any deck runoff. The system can be designed to DNV GL rules for floating dry docks.

‘‘

The design of the new roof for Dock 10 was conceived by the German architect and engineer Werner Sobek For the latest news and analysis go to www.motorship.com/news101

RETROFITS & CONVERSIONS

YARDS BUSY WITH SURVEYS, REPAIRS AND RETROFITS

8 An Alfa Laval PureBallast BWTS installed in the engine room of an LNG carrier

primary constraint of the scrubber part of the project was the limited size of the existing funnel, and the physical size and configuration of the U-Type venturi scrubber chosen. A major extension to the funnel was identified by all parties as the only viable option. The innovative design delivered managed to retain a somewhat streamlined and aesthetically pleasing “backpack” arrangement. Given the compact engine room and lack of free space on the engine floor level, locating the scrubber seawater supply pumps, associated equipment and ECU units for the BWTS was also a challenge.

Sandeep Seth, President Goltens Worldwide, notes that scrubber projects involve a lot of naval architectural and structural studies including lightship calculations, and sea chest capacity, overboard requirements, sizing of the seawater pump capacity as well as piping design have to be conducted in parallel. It is also important to verify the back

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

8 An innovative funnel design after the installation of a Kwang Sung scrubber aboard an LNG carrier

Image: Goltens Worldwide

A&P Group in the UK reported a strong first half of the year across all three of its facilities despite the challenges of working during the pandemic, and David McGinley, Chief Executive Officer of Cammell Laird Ship Repairers and Shipbuilders and Atlantic & Peninsula Marine Services in the UK, says the forecast for the rest of 2020 is encouraging for the ship repair, conversion and marine services company, as deferred classification surveys look set to make the last quarter busy for all three facilities. “The knock-on effects of Covid-19 have been vast, and we are anticipating a bottleneck of demand for our drydocks, as shipowners and operators rush to book their classification surveys before the year is out.”

One of A&P Tees’ most significant projects this year involved extending the life of trailing suction hopper dredger Heortnesse by more than 15 years. Carried out over two dockings, the propulsion drives were changed to allow the vessel to operate on two generators instead of three, and the dredge system was refurbished with a new dredge pump, pipework, densitometer and monitoring system. In total, 30 tonnes of steel, the deck-dredge hydraulics, control systems and the alarm and communications systems were all renewed.

The offshore supply vessel Ocean Intervention II underwent refurbishment at A&P Falmouth. The program involved routine repairs and maintenance as part of the ship’s class certification and the fabrication of a custom-designed gondola and modifications to the vessel’s back deck. The 14 tonne gondola was fabricated in advance, and the shape, size and weight of the gondola meant that A&P’s in-house engineers had to fabricate stilts so that a cutter could get beneath the structure and machine the fittings before it was transferred to the dry dock and attached to the hull. Other work included modifying and installing a new main propulsion thruster bed plate and fitting insulation to help minimise the sound from the ship’s thrusters, which was interfering with sonar readings from the sea bed.

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, a member of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group, has retrofitted the first two of its DIA-SOx R series scrubbers on two ultra-large container ships, with approvals gained from both Lloyd’s Register and ClassNK. The scrubber series features a rectangular tower design suitable for ultra-large container ships, and its multi-stream configuration can simultaneously treat exhaust gas discharged from multiple engines in one tower, including the large main engine with output over 75,000kW. Mitsubishi Shipbuilding has increased production capacity and begun shipments of the DIA-SOx R and also the DIA-SOx C Series tower, suited for LPG carriers and large oil tankers.

The cylindrical C Series has been jointly developed with Mitsubishi Kakoki Kaisha and the rectangular R Series with Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems.

Goltens Green Technologies’ division in Singapore recently undertook a turnkey project for the simultaneous installation of a Kwang Sung scrubber and a ballast water treatment system on an LNG tanker at Chengxi Shipyard in China. The

Image: Goltens Worldwide

A range of repair and retrofits projects have been completed amid the challenging conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic

SEPTEMBER 2020 | 29

RETROFITS & CONVERSIONS 8 An installation of a completely integrated automation system (IAS) can be completed in around a week, and offers new capabilities for improved vessel efficiency, said Børge Nogva, President of Høglund Marine Solutions Image: Høglund Marine Solutions

pressure generated from the scrubber with engine manufacturers. Power consumption needs to be calculated and load analysis updated to confirm that sufficient power will be available during operation. For the new casing, it was necessary to analyse structural and equipment stress horizontally and vertically and to analyse pipe stress.

There is often reluctance and apathy amongst owners and operators when considering automation at the retrofit stage, says Børge Nogva - President, Høglund Marine Solutions. “We see a trend now where the suppliers of existing systems found onboard typically offer owners a ‘partial’ upgrade, based on this reluctance to approach a full retrofit. This often starts with an upgrade of the ‘top-system’ such as operator-stations and user interfaces. At next yard-stay they continue with major hardware components such as computer processing units and input/ output cabinets. While it may seem more cost effective to split the work up in this way, owners may be sleepwalking into a situation where they are effectively paying twice for automation refits, as they are locked into contracts with their supplier, often without upgrade options.”

Nogva say frequently yards will work with their preferred suppliers and manufacturers. Consequently, it is not uncommon to find a bridge or engine control room (ECR) with 10-20 different monitors or stand-alone systems. Operating these multiple, non-integrated systems is a significant challenge for the crew. Maintaining the ECR is problematic in these circumstances too.

A new, complete integrated automation system (IAS) offers a way to untangle the complexity, he says, and retrofits can be completed in around a week. This brings new capabilities

for improved vessel efficiency, from cavitation insights with torque and thrust sensors in propulsion units to fuel flow. “At Høglund, we have seen owners generate as much as 20 percent fuel savings just from being able to understand their fuel flow and adjust their propulsion unit accordingly.”

A consolidated IAS also brings in new capabilities for owners to extract and exploit big data and to facilitate remote connectivity. “This allows for low-cost maintenance, repair and update of systems onboard from onshore locations, reducing the need for costly technician call-outs,” says Nogva.

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RETROFITS & CONVERSIONS

TAKING THE HIT: MAERSK OPTS TO FIT SNAP BACK ARRESTORS Maersk spends nearly US$2 million annually on replacing some 1,000 mooring ropes and will retrofit the new Timm Snap Back Arrestor (SBA) ropes over the next five years as their existing ropes reach their five-year lifespan.

The SBA is an elongating core which sits within 12-strand plaited, mixed polymer or HMPE ropes. The core has greater elongation capacity than the outer rope, so if the outer, loadbearing construction breaks, the SBA reduces the resulting snap-back forces. The rope slumps rather than whipping across the ship and dock at speeds that can reach almost 800 kilometres per hour.

The retrofit is a continuous process organised so that it does not disturb vessel operations, with the ropes being delivered

by Wilhelmsen Ships Service. Timm Ropes was established in 1772 and acquired by Wilhelmsen in 2015. The SBA line was launched in May 2019 after nearly seven years of development including lab and sea testing in both straight line and angled configurations. It has gained type approval from DNV GL, and the ropes have been tested according to the latest, 4th Edition of the OCIMF Mooring Equipment Guidelines.

The new ropes have a Maersk blue stripe, making it easier for operators to spot any damage or twists in the rope that could affect breakage.

Most Maersk vessels will be fitted with the Timm Master 12 SBA, a 12-strand plaited mixed polymer rope that has the same material composition as the Timm Master 8 rope currently being used. A few classes of larger vessels will be fitted with Wilhelmsen’s Acera line of HMPE ropes that have SBA integrated. “Ropes made from HMPE material are the same strength as steel ropes of the same diameter, but the weight is only one seventh,” says Veronika Aspelund, Business Manager, Ropes, at Wilhelmsen. “HMPE ropes are easy to handle and last longer than conventional ropes. In addition, a number of ports or terminals specifically require vessels calling there to be equipped with HMPE ropes, due to safety.”

Vessel mooring remains one of the most dangerous tasks crew and port workers can undertake. Snap back accounts for 60 percent of mooring accidents, according to the UK P&I club, with one in seven of those accidents resulting in fatalities. Statistics from the European Harbour Masters’ Committee show that 95 percent of personal injury incidents are caused by ropes and wires; 60 percent occurring during mooring operations.

Aslak Ross, Maersk’s Head of Marine Standards, says: “This SBA rope technology embraces one of the fundamental elements of our Safety Differently approach by building in capacity to safeguard people.” He hopes the company is starting an industry-wide transformation, leading by example to protect seafarers and dockworkers ashore.

In an effort to bring accident numbers down, amendments to SOLAS regulation II-1/3-8 and new guidelines for safe

Credit: Wilhelmsen

After participating in a nine-month pilot, Maersk has committed to retrofitting the mooring ropes of its entire fleet with Snap Back Arrestor technology

mooring are expected to enter into force on 1 January 2024. All new ships will be required to comply with the revised regulations for safe-touse mooring arrangements. Mooring equipment will be required to be arranged to minimise obstructed access and view of the mooring area, minimise manual handling of mooring lines under load and minimise the need for complex mooring line configurations.

Existing ships will be required to comply with new inspection and maintenance regimes.

DNV GL is continuing to focus on human-centric design for mooring solutions. “Humans have been considered in the design of equipment and facilities, but the focus has not been human-centric,” says Yiyang Li, Ship Life Cycle Management Consultant, DNV GL, and lead consultant for DNV GL’s Safe Mooring Team. DNV GL is conducting expert interviews with the aim of identifying gaps between claimed and actual crew performance as the industry evolves with larger ships, new mooring systems and increased use of shore power. Speaking in DNV GL’s Maritime Impacts, he says these developments are influencing the risk picture, and there has been a time gap in the update of routines. The result is that mooring safety has depended largely on seamanship and operator experience.

“We are also working to influence design using knowledge of human behaviour,” Yiyang says. “We are performing critical task analysis with owners and operators, and we aim to share this approach with the design industry. The goal is to allow human factors to have more influence in the design process.

Not enough attention has been paid to overall solutions. The goal now is to consider the entire process from a combined human, operational and technological perspective.”

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

8 The SBA reduces snap-back forces if the outer load-bearing construction snaps Inset: The new ropes have a Maersk blue stripe, making it easier for operators to spot any damage or twists in the rope that could affect breakage

SEPTEMBER 2020 | 31

RETROFITS & CONVERSIONS

OLD WINCHES UPGRADED WITH NO CHANGES REQUIRED ON DECK Viking Line and ABB have proven the concept of mooring winch upgrades, re-using old motors but updating to stepless speed control During a 10-year collaboration between the two companies, a selection of mooring winches on three 30-year-old ferries were retrofitted with variable speed AC drives for stepless operation. Viking Line undertook the retrofit installations with ABB providing technical assistance and programming of parameters.

Older winches with electrical motors with three windings and direct on line (DOL) start have been a very well used solution in the maritime industry for around 15 years, says Mikael Holmberg, Sales manager for Marine Winches & Cranes at ABB, but a more robust and standardised concept with an induction motor and one winding is standard today.

“The beauty of the retrofit is that the old motor, control stand and space in the electrical cabinet can be reused. No change is required to the winches on deck, which operators can use as before, but instead of DOL steps, now with quiet stepless speed control.”

For the retrofit, one of the motor’s windings is connected to the frequency converter via an output filter (du/dt) which protects the winding from variable speed drive voltage peaks.

The winding’s nominal data is programmed in the frequency converter, and an identification run ensures compatibility.

The retrofit process enables upgrade to the company’s latest drive platform, ACS880, which uses a dedicated winch control program with inbuilt functionality for anchor mode, hand mooring, auto-mooring and clutch control (creep speed mode). All the features are programmable and adjustable by parameters available on the control panel on the drive or via laptop or smartphone.

The external circuit board used for tension control in automatic mooring mode in the old cabinet is replaced with inbuilt functionality in the frequency converter. All old joystick control signals are transferred directly to the frequency converter IO board, and the new functionality is enabled by the software without the need for load cell sensors, motor encoders and external programmable logic controllers.

The newly-available cabinet space in the electrical room is used to house the frequency converter, filter and other components such as the mechanical disk brake power circuit (usually 110VDC).

“Old external mooring controller hardware is therefore replaced with internal mooring software,” says Holmberg.

“This can be important as old control board versions may not exist anymore. It also means there are fewer critical components, including relays and contacts, so maintenance requirements are less. And more information and functionality is available than before with the winch functionality software in the ACS880 drives.”

The resulting system can limit the available torque (Nm) depending on whether the winch is being operated in hand or auto-mooring mode. The motor’s mechanical brake is controlled via the frequency converter relay output and has inbuilt mechanical brake control to make sure that brake is fully open before the motor is rotated. In the stopping sequence, the motor speed is reduced to creep speed

32 | SEPTEMBER 2020

before the close command is given. Wear on components is therefore reduced, as the brake doesn’t have the stress of opening and closing at high speed.

“The speed controller must be tuned to ensure good speed control performance,” says Holmberg. “This require testings and real case experience. Now that we have completed several retrofits, we know the ‘rules’ and can adapt and use old motors with our frequency converters.

These motors have no speed encoder feedback, and our new concept where no encoder is needed is now well used and working correctly after the identification sequence.”

The ACS880 control panel has digital displays for all signals including speed, torque and current. A load analyser monitors operational time and torque levels on the motors.

Maintenance counters show parameters such as inlet temperature and control board temperature, and a fault/ warning history logger stores historical information for fault analysis. The evaluation and programming of parameters can be done on the control panel via different menus or on a personal computer using ABB’s DriveComposer software.

ACS880 drives use an ABB memory stick to provide operational parameters to the control board. All software configurations set up for the drive are stored there, so if a drive change is needed, the memory stick can be taken out of the old drive and plugged in to the new one. “This is the most practical way of enabling drive functionality, as drive or spare part changes can be undertaken without the need for any programming skill,” says Holmberg.

Thousands of marine winches on all vessel types now have the potential for the benefits provided by upgrades similar to those undertaken on Viking Line’s ferries MS Mariella, MS Gabriella, and most recently MS Amorella, says Holmberg.

8 Left: The ACS880 control panel has digital displays for all signals including speed, torque and current.

Top: The retrofit substituted direct on line (DOL) steps for winches with electrical motors with stepless speed control. Above: The winch aboard the MS Amorella after the retrofit

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BATTERY HYBRIDS & ALTERNATIVE FUELS

HOT STUFF: THE BIG FUEL CELL COME-BACK

Picture: SHI

A new LNG carrier project seeks to harness the specific characteristics of solid oxide fuel cell technology, but the technical obstacles are considerable, Stevie Knight hears

Because it’s an electrochemical, not combustion energy conversion, fuel cell efficiency can far outstrip a typical four-stroke - and there are virtually no toxic emissions.

So, why hasn’t this tech gained greater market share before? The economic reality is that till just a few years ago, hydrogen fuel cell costs were prohibitive - but that’s changing rapidly: Ballard, for example, is ‘confident’ it will soon be pitching a per-kilowatt price competitive with diesel engines.

However, it’s largely been driven by the car industry, points out Sami Kanerva, senior principal engineer at ABB Marine & Ports: to be pragmatic, a swathe of maritime development has to hang onto automotive’s coat-tails, “as mass production allows us a competitive price”.

But that’s not the whole story: it’s not a single solution, and neither, says Kanerva, “is there a simple, silver bullet”.

Most fuel cells work on roughly the same basis. Hydrogen and oxygen will always try to hook up, but they’re sat either side of an electrolyte ‘gateway’ which only passes positively charged particles. However, when either set of molecules are separated from their negatively-charged electrons by a catalyst, the (positively charged) ions rush straight through the electrolyte to party on the other side. That leaves the electrons running around the exterior circuit to join the fun, creating a current.

In Kanerva’s view, small to midsized vessels will likely go for Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) cells. These have a ‘moderate’ 50% to 60% efficiency, “and can respond to load changes and acceleration very fast”, he says, although in crossing over from the automotive sector, “marine applications will want to slow that down a bit”. Cars for personal use have very different requirements, generally below 10,000 hours but onboard the stack’s lifetime is critical. He adds: “As the cells can suffer from hydrogen and oxygen imbalance,

34 | SEPTEMBER 2020

8 Current gas carrier designs will be challenged by the regulatory moves toward low-to-no emission shipping

especially with repeated dynamic load changes, it’s better to incorporate a battery as a protective buffer.”

It doesn’t, however, translate into a workable alternative for larger ships. The major drawback is that PEM cells are susceptible to fuel impurities: traces of carbon monoxide can bind to the expensive platinum catalyst, poisoning it.

Therefore, “you are tied to using - and carrying - pure hydrogen” says Kanerva. This “makes it unlikely it will be the answer for long-distance shipping”.

Into this open arena steps a less well-known technology: Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs). Already utilised in landside power generation these can also handle hydrocarbons along with ammonia and alternatives “such as ethanol, methanol, or almost any other compliant [gaseous] fuel” says principal approval engineer Mun Hwa Jung, DNV GL Korea.

However, its power and heat characteristics make it ‘big ship’ technology, not one that can be easily incubated in cars or even onboard small vessels. Therefore, despite a couple of interesting pilots, it hasn’t gained traction in the marine market... till now. Samsung Heavy Industries has just declared it is set to run with a 174,000m3 LNGC new building: completion is planned “for the end of 2022” says SHI’s senior engineer Young-Seok Yang.

SHI’s plans are ambitious: most of these gas carriers are dual-fuel, but the yard’s alternative “aims to replace all the existing main engines and generators” explains Yang. Therefore the upgraded vessels will need to have a huge 30MWs of SOFCs onboard to cover both propulsion and hotel loads.

It’s a direct shot across the bows for manufacturers such as Wärtsilä which, it might be remembered, made its name from repowering LNG carriers with dual-fuel engines and continued to carve out a low-emission niche ever since.

The prominent shipbuilder is working with Bloom Energy,

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BATTERY HYBRIDS & ALTERNATIVE FUELS

HURDLES Still, the utilisation of SOFC technology requires consideration.

“You have to think about how the cells themselves react to the heat,” says Kanerva. Fast cycling between different temperatures causes stress, fatiguing and sometimes cracking structures: as a result “you need to warm up these kinds of cells rather slowly”.

It’s not a natural solution for very dynamic loads and system longevity demands the fuel cells are paired with a battery pack to mitigate thermal cycling; although “the size of this will depend on the load profile of the ship”, explains Yang, adding that “power management will be developed during the JDA [with Bloom]”.

However, it would seem to suit tankers like these Aframax LNG carriers. In fact, these cells may be kept running throughout the entire journey, says Jung. Of course, “a remaining challenge is how to manage the constant power output in case the consumer load drops” he explains, which, if the excess energy is to be stored, will, in turn, affect the scale of the battery. He admits, “there are more details to be worked out” for this type of vessel.

Still, physical integration presents the most significant technical hurdle: splitting the plant into two rooms is being “considered”, says Yang. But given the extreme heat and explosive potential, there are further demands from both class and IMO regulations.

Therefore, “the fuel cell stacks are enclosed within a hot box as the primary barrier,” says Jung, but these, and the pipework, should also be enclosed within a secondary barrier with gas detection capability and continuous ventilation. That alone makes it rather different to present LNG or low flashpoint fuel installations, where double-layer protection is limited to the fuel supply lines and doesn’t extend to the plant itself.

It’s worth underlining, each of these stacks is separately enclosed. However, as Jung points out, while it may seem troublesome, that does avoid making every electrical

component in the fuel cell room ATEX compliant.

Generally, “the challenges are space and price... currently, these come in at a higher cost than conventional four-stroke engines” says Jung. How much higher is still difficult to work out as even for landside applications, the prices are under wraps - although it appears they’ve come down a lot in the last couple of years.

It does help that unlike PEM cells, it ditches expensive platinum-coated anodes, Bloom’s tech uses inexpensive alloys - but there are other costs likely attributable to the electrolyte. Still, it seems more economies of scale will follow and possibly the SHI-Bloom partnership will explore investment easing approaches - but that remains to be seen.

Further, although “it needs more space [in the power plant room]” Jung points out: “There’s one more thing to say... If the SOFC is to replace the main engines entirely, you can remove many of the traditional propulsion components from the vessel.” Interestingly, Yang adds that a number of auxiliary arrangements can be eliminated “such as lubricating, compressed air, cooling water, and steam systems”.

Will this technology find further take up? Yang believes so: “Fuel cells are being “touted as a next-generation” marine power replacement as environmental issues ascend the agenda, adding that SHI’s FC system “will be the safest and the most reliable solution in the industry”.

The combination of efficiency, fuel flexibility and low-to-no emission running could prove very attractive to other segments, especially if paired with a ‘mop up’ carbon capture device. It might, eventually, even challenge the current twostroke queens of long-haul shipping.

Engine manufacturers, the message is clear: you’d better hold onto your hats.

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

8 Samsung Heavy’s 174,000m3 LNGC will incorporate no less than 30MW of SOFC cells from Bloom Energy.

Inset: Will SOFC cells like these pave the way for shipping’s decarbonisation?

8 Samsung Heavy is aiming to place itself at the forefront of the clean-ship technology race

Picture: SHI

which is aggressively pitching its SOFC solutions to a number of industries and claiming a large slice of the pie. The technology has a lot going for it, typically returning 60% to 65% efficiency.

Like PEM cells, the solution has scalability, says Yang: “A power module can produce 75kW of electricity and four or six modules can be configured into an [interconnected] system,” multiples coming together to reach the desired output.

But most interestingly, the SOFC stacks operate at between 800 and 850: the temperature at which oxygen ions are conducted from the cathode, through the solid electrolyte, to react with the hydrogen. It also utilises carbon monoxide (CO) and handles other trace elements that would kill a PEM FC. This heat has another use. A proportion is recycled inside the fuel cell, where it’s used to steam-reform the LNG at the anode. The process transforms the methane into a mixture that’s mostly H2 with a bit of CO, which reacts in the cell to create carbon dioxide.

Admittedly, this joins the smattering of CO2 produced by the reformer, but SOFCs are a good candidate for carbon-capture techniques because the CO2 can be hived off in a containable stream, something also being considered by SHI. Finally, the 300 exhaust gas exits at a little higher than atmospheric pressure, explains Yang. That makes for useful, high-grade thermal energy to be directed toward economisers, auxiliary boilers or possibly a steam power turbine. It’s all mature technology, but it stands increase that 60% efficiency to an impressive 85%.

SEPTEMBER 2020 | 35

BATTERY HYBRIDS & ALTERNATIVE FUELS

DANFOSS EDITRON TO ALIGN PORTFOLIO WITH OPPORTUNITIES While autonomous vessels are coming, a number of nontechnical obstacles need to be resolved before autonomous ships can be introduced more widely. The near-term growth opportunities are likely to be concentrated among smaller short-sea or short-hop vessels.

“We expect autonomy to eventually affect short-sea or short-hop routes. From our point of view, this will drive electrification in short-hop ferries, for example,” Tenhunen said. “We expect all smart vessels will be full-electric vessels or battery hybrid vessels.”

Tenhunen has a particular interest in autonomous and fullelectric vessels, as they represent key market opportunities for Danfoss Editron’s EDITRON decentralised DC system.

While the solution offers weight and space reductions of between 30-40% compared with conventional diesel-electric propulsion and power plant systems, Tenhunen noted that the DC system’s redundancy and safety was also likely to be attractive to the autonomous vessel segment.

Danfoss Editron recently supplied a full-electric workboat for operation in China, which utilised synchronous reluctance assisted permanent magnet propulsion motors and inverters, with bidirectional high-power DC/DC converters and microgrid controllers.

One of the drivers of the shift towards the electrification of passenger vessels was regulation. “China is promoting demand for emission-free ships via regulation, such as its Green River Way and there is a lot of early stage investment interest there at the moment.”

The economics of full-electric solutions in the short-sea ferry market were supportive, but upfront CAPEX costs remained higher. The 4.3MWh full-electric ferry Ellen, which was launched in 2019, was up to 20% more efficient than the diesel-electric vessel she replaced.

Tenhunen was upbeat about the outlook for shipping in Asia, expecting demand in the Asian market to take off in the near future.

Danfoss Editron is active in the Chinese market: in July, the China Classification Society awarded type approval to Danfoss Editron for its synchronous reluctance assisted permanent magnet motors and frequency converters.

DANFOSS TARGETING LARGER (AND SMALLER) VESSELS Other areas of interest for Danfoss Editron are the workboat and 2 litre vessel segments, as well as small high-speed vessels and crew transfer vessels where no suitable solution had previously been available to ship designers.

“We are seeing the rapid growth of interest in electrification among smaller vessels: more and more 20m+ vessels and smaller vessels will be electrified.”

Turning to the opportunities among larger vessels, Tenhunen noted that the business case for moving to battery-hybridisation for diesel-electric vessels with variable power consumption profiles, such as tugs, dredgers, or offshore service vessels, was relatively straightforward.

“One of the key questions” was when these vessel types

36 | SEPTEMBER 2020

Image: Danfoss Editron

Erno Tenhunen, marine director at Danfoss Editron, offers his perspective on upcoming changes in the short-sea market, and identifies new markets for Danfoss solutions

would move to full-electric propulsion. “Sustainability is a key concern for wind farms and for the offshore sector: we see investors who are willing to invest before the economics are supportive.”

The size and weight savings offered by the company’s DC solution were likely to be attractive for many larger vessels.

At present, the EDITRON solution was only available up to a maximum propulsion power of 2MW per shaft. The company was interested in extending its dynamic positioning capabilities from DP2 vessels to DP3 vessels.

“We are expanding our portfolio for larger vessels,” Tenhunen admitted, adding that many shipyards and ship designers would be familiar with Danfoss products, such as its electrical motors.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT In addition to his commercial responsibilities, Tenhunen is also responsible for developing new systems technology at Danfoss Editron.

The Motorship notes the company recently invested in inhouse testing facilities at its headquarters in Lappeenranta, Finland. The facility represents a substantial multi-million US dollar investment as a number of product developments are in product prototype phase, and are expected to reach the market in under three years. The facility will conduct electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and environmental tests on the EDITRON system.

When asked about the company’s upcoming product initiatives, Tenhunen noted that the company p y was focused on developing solutions to meet the e opportunities in the market.

“We focus on developing safe e and highly efficient products, and we know how to make a compact mpact design,” Tenhunen said. He concluded by adding that despite Danfoss’ expertise across ross different segments of transportation, the he company didn’t “marinise” existing products. cts.

“Our small vessel solutions exceed class society requirements: we offer the ability to isolate individual producers or consumers onsumers for quired to smaller vessels, just as we are required for larger vessels.”

8 The 4.3MWh full-electric ferry Ellen, which was launched in 2019

8 Erno Tenhunen of Danfoss Editron wonders when sectors adopting batteryhybridisation, such as OSVs, will shift to full-electric propulsion

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BATTERY HYBRIDS & ALTERNATIVE FUELS

SHIPPING PUSHES BATTERY TECHNOLOGY FURTHER

Credit Stena Line

While the use of batteries aboard vessels is not a recent innovation, regulatory pressures and technological developments are driving interest in battery solutions

Regional regulatory developments have driven interest in reducing emissions, with particular interest in reducing or eliminating the use of auxiliary engines while manoeuvring near ports or loading or discharging cargoes, for instance.

Japan-based Yaskawa (formerly The Switch) are also seeing trends towards hybrid systems being adopted by the market. “IMO has set very strict rules to reduce emissions in the marine industry. With our hybrid solution, you can reduce emissions by adding a battery to even an existing system to replace the genset”, comments Teemu Heikkilä, Head of Product Line, High-Power Converters, Yaskawa.

The market for battery technology is growing strongly in the short-sea and domestic vessel market, Heikkilä said. He added that: “Fully electrical vessels are gaining popularity, especially when it comes to short-distance vessels.” Heikkilä expects demand for full-electric vessels to expand from their current low base.

However, as demand for battery solutions has expanded, greater attention is being paid to the challenges around battery power and energy density among current battery solutions on the market.

“It is very interesting to see the huge development in energy density in batteries for marine applications over the last few years - with specialised battery types depending on

38 | SEPTEMBER 2020

8 Stena Line installed a containerised 1MWh containerized battery ESS aboard Stena Jutlandica in 2019

vessel type and load profiles of the batteries better supporting the needs for different operations”, comments Asbjørn Halsebakke, Director, Technical Solutions, Marine Business, Yaskawa.

“We are very proud that we can exploit this development with our DC-Hubs and make sure that the vessels are operated safely and with high efficiency, to make the ESS last longer”, he adds.

Kongsberg has been focusing its developments on making their technology safer with the second generation of the SAve Energy Battery system due to be completed this year; which will see enhanced lifetime performance of up to 20 years compared to existing technology, the company claims.

Jens Hjorteset, Manager - Energy Solutions, Kongsberg Maritime AS also adds about the developments that Kongsberg has been working on with its battery safety: “We have also continued to develop our safety design for battery systems for the maritime market. We have looked at industry incidents, analysed their root causes and reviewed potential challenges.

Based on our findings and crew experiences, we have designed protective mechanisms, and we are also working on getting these safety measures enforced as industry standards.”

Currently, Kongsberg has delivered systems in a total of 100MWh. It seems that this trend will steadily grow as a

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

BATTERY HYBRIDS & ALTERNATIVE FUELS

‘‘

product for energy optimisation and short distance travel.

Hjorteset highlights that in a hybrid configuration for any vessel type the addition of a battery will increase the efficiency of the other power source, add additional capabilities as increased ramp performance and back-up power if there is an engine failure.

“This eliminates the need for the running of redundant energy producers, resulting in CAPEX and OPEX reductions for energy producers regardless of energy source”, he adds.

Other OEMs note that the overall economics of battery installations depends to a large extent on an individual vessel’s operational profile, as larger energy storage systems require greater fuel efficiencies to repay capex costs.

Nathaniel Frithiof, Senior Consultant, DNV GL explains that the current challenges around battery safety are also having an impact on the development and integration of the technology into the shipping industry.

“We wanted to enforce safety measures [through the standards], so if there was any thermal fault, it was stopped at that cell. This has meant that the weight and volume of the energy cells have increased.”

Dr Joong Sun Park, Solid State Technical Manager, Saft Batteries also highlights that with the batteries on the market today there are safety concerns around them due to the liquid electrolyte that they contain and its flammability, further developments in materials for batteries could resolve this issue over time.

Saft is currently working on their latest battery developments where they expect to see an energy increase of 10-20% Dr Park notes. Further to this, he highlights that for the longterm Saft are looking at further battery development around solid-state batteries.

Image: Saft Batteries

We are very proud that we can exploit this development with our DC-Hubs and make sure that the vessels are operated safely and with high efficiency, to make the ESS last longer

technology will be different from that of the maritime sector.

In comparison to existing battery technology Dr Park comments that the overall power that these solid-state batteries will bring to the market will not be too dissimilar, although they will be a “high energy system, the benefits will be smaller.”

Yaskawa also opines that this technology is still in its early days and will need further development before the industry can adopt it.

Hjorteset notes that: “At the end of the day it’s CAPEX that that will determine if solid-state batteries can compete with existing technology. Vessel owners will, of course, always move faster towards new technology if it makes sense business-wise.”

Hjorteset concluded that increasing the size of battery installations aboard ships would require the industry to change its mindset about system design. “There is a tendency today to design the ESS technology as an addition to a fullsize scale of energy producers, which makes it hard to argue the financial efficiency for the vessel.”

LOOKING AT THE SOLID-STATE OPTION The next stage for battery development is already looming on the horizon with the concept of the solid-state battery, which is already being developed for other industries.

Solid-state battery technology hold out the promise of smaller and lighter batteries, and are also expected to offer higher safety performance that Li-Ion technology.

Saft’s current developments are starting to focus on a solid-state battery solution for the market. As Dr Park explains that finding an electrolyte that offers similar conductivity to Lithium-ion is the key to getting the technology to work.

Another battery technology developer, Lavle from Washington State, is also looking at producing a solid-state battery. “LAVLE’s next-generation technologies, including its large format lithium metal battery (LMB) and solid-electrolyte battery (SEB) ESS currently in prototype testing, will build on the core safety and performance capabilities of the Proteus ESS while opening the door for battery technology to a whole new range of vessels and capabilities with their drastic increases in energy density”, explains Ben Gully, CTO. The development of solid-state batteries will be a crossindustry collaboration, as it will not just be the maritime industry that will utilise this technology. However, as Dr Park notes that the demands from the auto industry on battery

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

8 Saft Batteries is focusing longerterm battery development around solid-state batteries

8 Nathaniel Frithiof, Senior Consultant, DNV GL noted that current challenges around battery safety were having an impact on the development and integration of the technology

SEPTEMBER 2020 | 39

BATTERY HYBRIDS & ALTERNATIVE FUELS

SOLID-STATE SOLUTION COULD OUT PERFORM LI-ION BATTERIES

Image: CONNEXX SYSTEMS

CONNEXX SYSTEMS in Japan is developing a solid-state technology with its SHUTTLE BatteryTM that has far greater energy density than lithium-ion batteries

The new battery is a high temperature operation, all-solidstate storage battery that combines a solid oxide fuel cell component with an iron-air battery. The SHUTTLE Battery™ is unique, because it has 500 percent more electricity storage capacity compared to lithium-ion (Wh/L base) and almost the same amount of thermal energy can be stored at the same time, says CONNEXX Founder and CEO Dr Hisashi Tsukamoto. The device can store 1,000 percent more energy than lithium-ion technology.

Unlike lithium-ion batteries which use a flammable nonaqueous electrolyte, the Shuttle Battery™ is all solid and built from non-flammable materials, so it is intrinsically safe, he says. The use of an iron anode also means the cost of energy production is drastically reduced.

In an article published in Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, CONNEXX researchers describe the discharge reaction: Oxygen in air is reduced on the cathode.

Hydrogen gas in the anode compartment reacts with the oxygen anions carried through the solid electrolyte from the air electrode to produce water. The water vapour is reduced to hydrogen gas as it reacts with the anode fuel material, and the regenerated hydrogen reacts with the oxygen anions again at the anode to produce water vapour and electrical power. This cycle continues to generate electricity until all the metal is oxidised. The discharge reaction also produces heat.

The charge process can take place when the device is given electricity and heat from outside: the reverse cycle takes place until all metal is reduced and the iron oxide becomes pure iron.

The hydrogen in the system only acts as a carrier for the oxygen moving between the anode and the metal in the anode compartment, so it is not consumed. In potential applications, such as large-scale power storage and electric ships, this negates the need for high-pressure storage tanks, reformers, pipelines and hydrogen gas distribution stations.

40 | SEPTEMBER 2020

8 A prototype demonstration unit of the solid-state Shuttle Battery technology is being built

“The SHUTTLE Battery™ is a hydrogen energy storage device, but since it reproduces hydrogen inside the system it does not need typical hydrogen infrastructure investment,” says Dr Hisashi.

The technology is currently being scaled up and a prototype demonstration unit for large-scale energy storage is being built. While this will be suitable for tens or hundreds of megawatts of storage, Dr Hisashi also sees potential for maritime applications. He says the electrification of shipping bringing environmental benefits as well as a quieter, less toxic working environment for crews. In Japan, the vast majority of materials handling is done by a fleet of 5,000 cargo ships, and Dr Hisashi anticipates this to be the initial market for the technology. He says a prototype system suitable for onboard use could be developed within two years, with uptake by shortsea shipping in Japan in the next three to five years.

8 The solid-state SHUTTLE Battery combines a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) component with an iron-air battery

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AN-MAGRITT RYSTE ON AUTONOMY AND COLLABORATION

Credit: Kongsberg

An-Magritt Ryste, Product Director, Next Generation Shipping at Kongsberg offers her perspective on autonomous vessel development, and the future of demand

As a trained naval architect, which innovation do you think has transformed the industry the most?

From my perspective, the introduction of computer power into shipping has opened the door to many of the changes that we have seen in recent years. I started out in Kongsberg’s offshore business, which was the indirect result of the development of dynamic positioning.

Kongsberg played an important role in the development of the first dynamic positioning installed in a vessel, back in 1970.

It was the result of collaboration between industry partners and a research institute, and was small by modern standards, but it was one of the major developments. Today’s offshore industry and modern high-tech vessels are the result.

From those small beginnings, it has developed into the technology that has transformed the maritime industry. And we shouldn’t forget that it needed a visionary ship owner who was willing to collaborate and to take a risk, with an eye on the potential upside.

Q A

You are keen to emphasise team work as a key ingredient in some of these research collaborations.

After beginning my career with Kongsberg in the offshore operations area, where I gained early exposure to automation solutions in the rig and drilling operations solutions part of the business, I moved on to project manage a research project within the PILOT-E innovation incubator programme. This gave me first hand insight to the benefits of bringing together the private sector and research institutions.

In the complex world we are seeing right now, almost nobody can do everything alone. You need to have partners, you need to work together, and you need to have the drive to lead and to take risks.

It is clear that these programmes need diverse skill sets they are too complicated for one person or company to complete themselves.

Q A

42 | SEPTEMBER 2020

8 A six-month trial of Kongsberg’s ’adaptive transit’ system aboard Bastø Fosen VI began in February 2020

How would you describe the process of working with engineers focused on developing innovative solutions to problems?

One of the temptations for engineers is to overcomplicate to reach the perfect solution. But, actually, working with smaller vessels, under strict budget constraints, can force engineers to scale back solutions. It is one of the coolest challenges to find simple solutions to complex problems.

And, you know, sometimes when you do that, you can combine already existing solutions in a new way.

Q A

How do you see the impact of transformational changes, such as AI or digitalisation, affecting the industry?

I see that the industry is at a crossroads, in terms of technical approaches. Other solutions providers have a choice to make between partnering up and developing collaborations to gain expertise in areas such as AI. Or they can work towards an open source e code code-type ype app approach oac so they can engage with the wider community. This has the capacity to achieve far greater reater drive and uptake than any company could uld achieve via their own investment. But this then hen raises different questions. Rather than developing veloping a solution or algorithm or functionality, lity, you would then need to focus on how ow you apply these solutions.

Q A

8 An-Magritt Ryste, Product Director, Next Generation Shipping at Kongsberg

Some might characterise this ‘high-trust’ type of approach ach towards collaboration as typically ally Scandinavian. How has Kongsberg erg arrived at this approach?

We have assessed our position on and identified where our strengths and weaknesses lie, and

Q

A

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MS 100 where are the partnerships that we want to target to go further. We also decided what sort of effort we wanted to put into that - there are very good research institutes, people and government-funded organisations investing in some areas.

We cannot compete with that. But by partnering up, we can achieve far more together.

In your current role as the business owner of autonomy at Kongsberg, you also have a perspective on the transformational potential of autonomy on business models.

There are a number of different business models that we are looking at from different consumer markets.

Younger generations are already familiar with service models from their electric cars, or phones. This might mean selling uptime, or sharing fuel performance, or even software modules.

Beyond different service models, it might also mean taking a more holistic view of efficiency to include logistics - what is the point of improving the efficiency of a container vessel if the vessel has to queue before unloading?

But at Kongsberg, we have seen that many of the first movers in autonomy are coming from outside the maritime industry. For example, Norwegian companies who are looking at automation as a potential solution to their logistics and sustainability challenges. Their willingness to challenge established ways of doing things might also lead to the development of new logistics models - the transformational effects of autonomy may not be limited to individual vessels’ systems.

Q

What is your perspective on the current status of autonomy?

When I joined Kongsberg’s autonomy project, we were going to deliver autonomy in the sense of unmanned vessels within three years. And four years have passed and we’re not there yet. The things you don’t know are easy to underestimate, as they say.

Certainly, the technological complexity of developing autonomous solutions has proven to be greater than anticipated, but there have also been challenges around rules and regulations.

At the moment, we don’t expect autonomous vessels to enter operations in the short term. But an incremental approach is the way forward.

Q A

How has the evolving situation for rules and regulations affected the project?

Well, one of the factors has been the evolution in rules and regulations governing autonomy.

But more broadly, one of the problems is that there are not any commonly agreed rules. We are operating under Flag state rules in national waters, but Flag states have not been able to reach any agreements on rules so that trials can operate across international boundaries.

I can give you the example of an EU funded project, Autoship. The first tests are due to begin in summer 2022, and the vessel will cross between Norwegian and Danish waters.

The Danish Maritime Authority has agreed that the vessel can operate under NMA rules while it is in Danish waters.

Q A

How is the evolving regulatory environment affecting the design of Kongsberg’s solutions?

We are trying to develop solutions that are future proof, not least because that is what is needed to attract ship owners’ support. Because the rules are constantly evolving, this means that we need to introduce plug-and-play solutions, rather than installing ‘monolithic’ solutions that are

Q A

Credit: Kongsberg

A

susceptible to evolving rules. You don’t want to have to reinstall everything if the rules change - you want to be able to just change out the one thing you want to replace.

To give you an example of an area where our thinking is evolving at the moment, we are currently discussing whether safety critical systems should be allocated to the control or guidance domain. In other words, do we want to give more control to the shore or more and more control to a smarter ship. We have live projects evaluating these issues right now.

8 The ’adaptive transit’ system aboard Bastø Fosen VI includes an autodocking function

How has Kongsberg’s thinking about autonomous and remotely operated engine rooms evolved during the project?

While the questions around autonomous navigation and the replacement of the look-out, for example occupied us at the beginning of the project, we soon realised that the engine room was also going to be unmanned, rather than periodically unmanned.

At the moment, we are at a stage where we can have trials of autonomous vessels close to shore or in inland waters, and our preference is for hybrid or fully-electric solutions.

However, for the full benefits of autonomous shipping to be realised in the deep-sea segment of the market, we will need engine manufacturers to demonstrate that their engines can operate without supervision for extended periods of time. I think we are all quite a long way away from that at the moment.

However, we are not necessarily seeking to develop unmanned autonomous vessels for the deep-sea sector at the moment. By increasing the proportion of engine room management performed by a remote operations centre, you could optimise the size and workload of the crew.

Q A

And finally, if you have to look forward, how do you expect the introduction of autonomous shipping to affect the industry?

As we are still at the initial trial stage, we have largely focused on port infrastructure, and replacing the more traditional and known systems of today. But subsequently we can expect automation to touch shipbuilding, vessel designs and even maritime services, like insurance, as well as business models. We haven’t seen anything yet.

Q A

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SEPTEMBER 2020 | 43

DESIGN FOR PERFORMANCE

SHORE POWER BOOSTS TERNTANK NEWBUILDS ECO CREDENTIALS

Image: Terntank

Terntank has always had an eye for technology, and the group’s latest newbuildings will showcase advances that competitors are already looking to copy

First steel was cut for the 147-metre, 15,000dwt twin-hull chemical tankers at China Merchants Jinling shipyard in June. Designed by Kongsberg and classed by Bureau Veritas, the vessels will feature the same five-cylinder, 500mm bore RT-flex50-D low pressure LNG dual-fuel main engine from WinGD that was pioneered in four earlier vessels built at the same yard and operational since 2016-7. The new vessels benefit from an evolution in design that features a battery system, cold ironing and a hybrid bow thruster.

“We have always liked to work with technical solutions that reduce emissions, that will continue,” says Claes Möller, CEO of Tärntank Ship Management, who is already testing biofuels and envisages further use of battery power in the future. “We are working hard to to become fossil-fuel-free.”

The two vessels will be put into service in the Baltic and the North Sea in 2021.

The journey of their development began when Terntank became the first shipowner to order LNG-powered chemical tankers in 2013. Svein Kleven, Senior Vice President - Energy & Systems, Integrated Solutions, at Kongsberg Maritime, explains that, studying the older vessels in the fleet at that time, it became obvious that the original hullform was not optimised for the routes travelled. Theory predicted that with an optimised hullform and a dual-fuel LNG engine a 40 percent reduction in emissions could be achieved, and when the four vessels were benchmarked against older ships in the fleet, they did perform 30-40 percent better, depending on weather conditions.

“It was very clear in the discussions we had with Terntank that they wanted vessels for the future, taking into account environmental regulations not only today but also in the future,” says Kleven. “We had a very good starting point with the first four vessels which were operating very well and

44 | SEPTEMBER 2020

8 By implementing an energy storage system solution, the new chemical tankers will be able to load cargoes without running auxiliary engines

receiving great feedback from the crew. But from that point, it gets harder to achieve even more emissions reductions.”

The next step, adopted for the two newbuildings, was to replace the spade rudders with Kongsberg Promas integrated rudder propellers - offering eight to 12 percent reductions in CO2 emissions. After that, machinery became the focus. The large two-stroke engine was changing RPM in response to the automatic power management system to maintain the service speed of about 14.5 knots, so a next logical step was to introduce an energy storage system (ESS) for peak shaving.

A shaft generator will be used as a power source with the ESS in peak shaving/ load smoothing mode when the vessel is in normal service, with three generators on standby.

Typically, harbour manoeuvring would require at least two generators running, but for the newbuildings, Möller anticipates that no auxiliary engines will be required as the shaft generator and the ESS will provide enough power for entering and leaving harbours.

The ESS will also be used for operations such as ballasting and cargo handling and for blackout prevention and “take me home” operation using the shaft generator to run the propeller. Additionally, the ESS allows for emergency rescue operations involving the Man Over Board boat crane which will then be able to continue to operate even if all normal power sources are blacked out.

The ESS includes a 420kWh Corvus battery and is dimensioned for a power takeout of up to 1200kW. Depending on how much time is needed for loading or discharge, it can be recharged by shore power if available. Kleven notes that the ESS can provide all the necessary power from when the first mooring line is set until shore power is connected. This can take up to two hours, and on departure, the ESS will also

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eliminate the need for auxiliary engine power for about an hour. “This starts to become significant when you consider the number of port visits the vessels will make,” he says.

As well as the three auxiliary engines (Mitsubishi MAS 850S, 790 kWe @ 1800rpm, 60Hz) that are biofuel compatible, the new vessels will have a liquid biogas (LBG)/LNG-fuelled boiler. The aim is to run the main engine on 30 percent LBG bringing an additional CO2 reduction of 2,500 tonnes/year compared to LNG. The auxiliary engines are anticipated to be run on 30 percent biodiesel bringing an additional CO2 reduction of 625 tonnes/year. Running the LNG fuelled boiler and the inert gas generator on 30 percent LBG reduces CO2 emissions by 155 tonnes/year compared to MGO. The vessels will have 14 cargo tanks with seven independent submerged pump systems. The electric cargo and ballast pumps will feature variable frequency drives (VFDs) and are a more cost effective solution than hydraulic driven pumps, says Möller. They achieve energy savings of 15 percent. Hydraulically driven pumps suffer power losses in the electrically driven powerpack, filters, oil coolers, control valves and hydraulic pipe system. Electrical driven pumps are connected directly to the VFDs, and the power loss is less than three percent.

Additionally, the exhaust gas from the diesel-powered thermal oil cargo heaters will be processed with a scrubber system to produce gas that can then be used as inert gas.

Terntank worked with the Port of Gothenburg and Cavotec on the shore power connection and anticipates that green quayside electricity will be available around the same time as the vessels’ delivery. The high voltage shore connection eliminates the need for onboard power generation and reduces noise. When the vessels are connected, a VFD will convert the 50Hz shore power to suit the onboard 60Hz power system.

“When we are loading cargo, there will be no fuel consumption at all,” Möller says. “Unloading, our shore power connection will be 800kW, so we can use the shore power up to that level before needing to start an auxiliary engine.”

The 800kW system is expected to be able to handle the vessels’ hotel power as well as run the cargo handling and ballast systems.

At the Port of Gothenburg, a shore power station will be located centrally on the quay with approximately 50 meters of cable available. The chosen option for the vessels is to have the shore power connection room located centrally in the EX cargo handling zone to minimise cabling needs and to enable the ships’ cargo cranes to do the cable lifting. When connecting, the cabling must be locked using a locking sock

8 The electric power supply system will reduce emissions from the auxiliary engines by 10%, and will replace the use of auxiliary engines when manoeuvring in and out of ports

Image: Terntank

DESIGN FOR PERFORMANCE

at the connection point and where the cable reaches on to the vessel. The system is equipped with an interlock that ensures the control circuit is broken if the 50-meter cable experiences unacceptable tension. As part of the connection procedures, the plug room, too small for a person to enter, will be over-pressurised with nitrogen. This solution meets ATEX directives and has received approval from DNV GL and Bureau Veritas. The alternative, an EX plug system, was difficult to find and extremely expensive, said Möller.

Digital systems onboard bring further emissions reductions. Using Kongsberg’s K-Chief and Vessel Insight solutions means that voyage data including wind and current predictions will be used to control the main engine and associated electrical control systems. K-Chief will handle many important functions onboard including power management, auxiliary machinery control and cargo, ballasting and bunker monitoring and control. With Vessel Insight’ vessel-to-cloud infrastructure, crew and onshore operational staff will have instant access to vessel specific dashboards and fleet overview data analysis tools.

The vessels will also have Sea Traffic Management (STM) connected to their ECDIS. The STM project is a follow on from the E.U.-funded MONALISA 2.0 project which developed a system that enables vessel route information to be shared between ships and with centres on shore. The project has involved the development of information technology platforms for improving voyage planning and traffic flow.

Over 400 vessels already have the ability to share their routes via ECDIS using STM technology in the Baltic, and in May this year Wärtsilä Voyage won a contract to update the ECDIS onboard 50 tankers. The infrastructure for STM has been contracted out to a newly formed non-profit industry consortium, Navelink, founded by Kongsberg, Saab and Wärtsilä in December 2019. In the future, STM functionality will be expanded on by other service providers which could offer advice to vessels such as recommendations to avoid congestion in areas with high traffic, avoidance of environmentally sensitive areas and other maritime safety information.

The information exchange between the new Terntank vessels and ports is anticipated to improve planning and performance regarding arrivals, departures and turnaround times. Kongsberg’s K-Chief system will also be connected so that requested time of arrival at the jetty can be use to automatically adjust engine speed, with anticipated fuel savings expected to be up to 100 mt/year.

The electric power system, including the ESS, shore power connection and hybrid bow thruster will reduce emissions from the auxiliary engines by 10 percent, and with all the other design advancements, the new vessels will reduce emissions by over 20 percent more than their four predecessors.

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8 The new chemical tankers will feature a five-cylinder, 500mm bore RT-flex50-D low pressure LNG dualfuel main engine

SEPTEMBER 2020 | 45

SHIP DESCRIPTIONS

CUSTOM-MADE CABLESHIP FROM NORWAY

Credit: Nexans

A high capacity, DP3-class vessel for laying, connecting and repairing subsea power cables and umbilicals is taking shape at Ulsteinvik, writes David Tinsley

46 | SEPTEMBER 2020

consultancy Skipteknisk and the UK firm MAATS Tech, a specialist in the design and supply of cable and flex-lay equipment.

The 17,000dwt diesel-electric newbuild is scheduled for commissioning during the second quarter of 2021 and will be deployed by the contractual owning group’s Norwegian subsidiary Nexans Subsea Operations. She will become the largest and most versatile unit in the Nexans fleet, suited to the laying of all types of subsea power cables and umbilicals, including bundles, with the means also of undertaking cable jointing, cable system protection and trenching, and maintenance.

High manoeuvrability and station-keeping precision in all weathers was a fundamental requirement determining the 8 Installation of the third of the six main gensets on the newbuild at the Ulstein yard

Credit: Ulstein Verft

Cable-laying vessels are a distinct breed, requiring heavy investment to provide a robust, all-weather working platform and purpose-designed wherewithal for the task, plus a sophisticated power and propulsion system to efficiently and safely cover an operating profile characterised by large fluctuations in energy demand.

From a shipbuilding perspective, such tonnage poses particular challenges due to its technological and outfitting intensity, and because of the project management and system integration capabilities required to ensure that contractual delivery, quality and performance stipulations are met. Without the requisite planning, costing, production and organisational efficiency, yards will struggle to achieve a satisfactory net financial return on one-off projects of this kind.

A testament to the retained scope and competitiveness of the industry in Europe to undertake such construction is the 150-metre newbuild Nexans Aurora, now being outfitted in western Norway. The availability of a vibrant industrial cluster in the region is particularly apposite to the project.

Ordered from Ulstein Verft by the Paris-headquartered energy cable and telecom infrastructure group Nexans, the nascent vessel has been conceived primarily for the installation, recovery and repair of high-voltage DC and AC systems in both shallow and deepwater regions. Duties will include connecting offshore wind farms to the landside grid, placing offshore umbilicals, supporting the ‘electrification’ of offshore platforms, and creating undersea power interconnectors between countries The ship embodies the experience and know-how not only of the owner and builder, but also that of the Norwegian

8 The arrival of the Polish-built hull of Nexans Aurora in Ulsteinvik for equipment and machinery installation and outfitting

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SHIP DESCRIPTIONS

‘‘

design and engineering specification. The vessel’s capacity is such that she will be suited to long-range and long-duration operations without the need to pause for re-supply. Onboard facilities will ensure a high degree of independence and reduced reliance on outside support during deployments in areas of minimal infrastructure. Aalesund-domiciled Skipsteknisk developed the ST-297 CLV bespoke design for the DNV GL-classed newbuild.

The central feature of the Nexans Aurora is her highcapacity cable-handling spread, comprising a 10,000t split turntable with dual-product lay lines, for load-out, transportation and seabed installation in long lengths. The vessel will also incorporate a dedicated, enclosed cable splicing station offering a controlled environment for all product splicing and termination work to the same standard as that carried out in Nexans’ factories.

It is claimed that her 10,000t concentric carousel will be the largest in the market. In addition, the vessel will be fitted with a basket for up to 450t of fibre-optic cable.

The contract with MAATS embraced the huge carousel, load arms and roller pathways, cable capstan, five horizontal lay systems, bundling system, lay wheels and controls, plus a range of technical services that included the deck layout design and finite element analysis (FA) for key equipment.

Palfinger Marine of Salzburg, Austria, was chosen to provide a suite of deck gear comprising the 150t A-frame, two heavecompensated abandon and recovery (A&R) winches, two auxiliary A&R winches, two overhead travelling gantry cranes, a pair of offshore knuckle boom cranes and a single, offshore telescopic boom crane. The scope of supply was later augmented with two 64-person lifeboats and davits.

Cable-laying will be wholly accomplished across the stern.

While the main bridge and superstructure are located forward, a second bridge is arranged aft, facing over the working deck at the stern and the remote-operated vehicle (ROV) hangar. A passive roll-damping system, in conjunction with the nature of the hull lines, will reduce motions both in a seaway and when in DP mode.

The diesel-electric powerhouse is based on six main gensets driven by Bergen engines individually rated at 3,450kW, rendering an overall power concentration of 21,000kW. Redundancy is of a high order, permeating the layout and control of machinery and related systems. Energy is converted into propulsive effect via three main azimuthing thrusters in nozzles at the stern, and two tunnel thrusters and a retractable, azimuthing unit at the bow.

The rating of each of the manoeuvring thrusters, at 3,000kW, is on a par with the 3,200kW of the main propulsors.

The set-up engenders a DP3 standard of dynamic positioning and a relatively fast transit speed of up to 14 knots. The entire propulsor and thruster package is of local manufacture, having emanated from the Brunvoll factory at Molde.

Hydroniq Coolers of Aalesund was contracted by Ulstein to provide its proprietary Pleat seawater cooling system for the vessel’s main and auxiliary machinery. The patented Pleat solution is a module-based titanium cooler, devised for

Credit: Ulstein Verft

The patented Pleat solution is a module-based titanium cooler, devised for long service intervals and ease of maintenance of the elements compared to conventional heat exchangers

long service intervals and ease of maintenance of the elements compared to conventional heat exchangers.

The diesel generator plant will burn low-sulphur fuel.

Among other measures that will lessen the ship’s environmental impact is the regeneration of cable-lay braking power, and the provision for making a connection to the shoreside grid when in port for cable loading, obviating the need for generator running.

Ulstein Verft subcontracted the hull and initial outfitting to Polish shipbuilder and steel fabricator Crist, and the partiallybuilt vessel was towed from the latter’s Gdynia premises in June this year to the Ulsteinvik yard for equipment installation and completion. The main contractor’s work embraces the fitting of the main generators and power system, deck gear, winches and the topsides equipment.

Ulstein landed the deal for the Nexans cable layer in 2018 after the original order placed the previous year with Uljanik Shipyard of Croatia was cancelled.

Jobs to which the newbuild is already committed include the installation of three 65km offshore export cables and three 20km onshore export cables for the Seagreen 1 offshore wind farm in Scottish North Sea waters.

8 Impression of Nexans Aurora on an offshore wind farm

PRINCIPAL PARTICULARS - Nexans Aurora Length overall 149.9m Length, incl. sheaves 155.2m Length bp 142.8m Breadth 31.0m Depth, to main deck 12.8m Depth, to tween deck 8.3m Capacity, cable turntable 10,000t Capacity, optic tank 450t Deadweight 17,000t Main genset engines 6 x 3,450kW Main azimuth thrusters 3 x 3,200kW Bow tunnel thrusters 2 x 3,000kW Bow azimuth retractable thruster 1 x 3,000kW Class DNV GL Class notations +1A, Cable laying vessel, E0, SF, NAUT(AW), Clean(Design), SPS, DYNPOS(AUTRO), COMF(V-3, C-3), Ice(C), BIS, BWM(T), VIBR, Silent(E), Recyclable, Strengthened(DK) Accommodation, single cabins 90 persons

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SEPTEMBER 2020 | 47

SHIP DESCRIPTIONS

TRAINING SHIP DEAL BOOSTS US CLUSTER

Credit: Herbert Engineering/MARAD)

The roll-out of the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) programme is a lifesaver for Philly Shipyard and a boon to the wider US maritime sector, writes David Tinsley

The much-vaunted project of the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) to replace the ageing fleet of merchant navy officer training ships with a new generation of multi-role vessels has brought vital and high-value work to the shipbuilding industry on the Delaware River and benefits to the countrywide supply chain.

The initial award to Philly Shipyard calls for the construction of two 160-metre, diesel-electric newbuilds in accordance with the design concept laid down under the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) programme. The US$630 million contract was placed through TOTE Services, acting on behalf of MARAD, and carries options on a further three ships. Should all options be exercised, resulting in five vessels produced in series, the overall contract worth would amount to approximately $1.5 billion.

Having already sanctioned the investment in the initial two newbuilds, the US Federal Budget approved in December 2019 included a US$300 million provision for a third vessel. Additional funding of US$300 million for a fourth-of-class has been identified in the President’s 2021 Federal Budget proposals.

TOTE Services will oversee the build process in its capacity as MARAD’s construction manager for the NSMV programme.

In addition to the primary role as a state-of-the-art training and educational platform, embracing all shipboard disciplines, the NSMV is intended as a polyvalent national asset, capable of fulfilling numerous roles, notably disaster response and humanitarian assistance. There are many examples of maritime academy vessels having been deployed in an emergency support role over the years, as in the aftermath of the succession of hurricanes that caused devastation on US Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean shores between 2005 and 2017 (Katrina, Rita, Sandy, Harvey, Irma and Maria).

Abaft the extensive, five-deck superstructure, the new ships will provide garaging for ro-ro cargo and equipment and storage for containers, served by a sideport ramp and 35t deck crane, for use during disaster relief or for strategic cargo deliveries. In training ship mode, the NSMV will accommodate a maximum

48 | SEPTEMBER 2020

8 National asset: the USA’s new-generation multi-role training ship

600 cadets plus up to 100 officers, crew and faculty staff, with surge capacity for humanitarian and disaster relief missions, whereby as many as 1,000 people will be accommodated, including first responders and recovery workers.

Besides eight classrooms, workshops, auditorium, simulator, laboratory and other training spaces, a full-scale training bridge will be located below the main navigating bridge.

The investment is timely not only because of the age profile of the existing fleet, but also due to the pressing need to address a critical shortage of qualified officers to crew commercial and government-owned sealift ships during crises.

The basic NSMV design was prepared several years ago under contract to MARAD by Alameda, California-domiciled Herbert Engineering Corporation, which collaborated with several other companies so as to provide a comprehensive package of deliverables that would lay the ground for shipyard bids. As well as various US specialists, this included recourse to SSPA Sweden for hull lines optimisation, model testing, and propeller design.

A diesel-electric system based on medium-speed engines was laid down from the outset for NSMV power and propulsion. Influencing factors were the scale of the ship service electrical load associated with the large cadet, 8 Engine specifications Wabtec 16V250MDC

Bore

250mm

Stroke

320mm

No.of cylinders + arrangement

16 vee

Stroke cycle

4

Compression ratio

15:1

Rated speed

900rpm

1,000rpm

MCR(kW)

4,200kW

4,700kW

MCR(bhp)

5,632bhp

6,303bhp

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SHIP DESCRIPTIONS

Newbuild vessel

US maritime academy

Delivery

NSMV-1

State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College

Spring 2023

NSMV-2

Massachusetts Maritime Academy

Winter 2023/2024

NSMV-3

Maine Maritime Academy

2025

NSMV-4

Texas A&M University, Galveston

2025-2026

NSMV-5

California Maritime Academy

2026 8 NSMV Fleet Allocation

activity at the yard, there has been a hiatus in shipbuilding since the completion in March 2019 of the second of two 3,600TEU containerships for Matson Navigation. Immediately following the NSMV award in April this year, Philly put planning, final design and procurement into effect, with a view to a production start in early 2021 and delivery of the first of-class during the spring of 2023.

The lead NSMV will be assigned to the State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College, as the replacement for the steam turbine-powered Empire State VI, originally built in 1962 as a cargo liner and converted for her current role in 1969.

The second newbuild, which is due to be commissioned by the winter of 2023/2024, is to be allocated to Massachusetts Maritime Academy, to supersede the Kennedy. The latter started life in 1966 as a Lykes Lines cargo ship.

Located on the site of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, which was closed in 1995, Philly came into being as a commercial shipbuilder in 1997 under the banner of Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard, subsequently named Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, and re-branded as Philly Shipyard in 2015. The company is the operating subsidiary of Norwegianheadquartered Philly Shipyard ASA, listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and majority owned by Aker Capital.

8 Home-grown, Wabtec 16V250 medium-speed engines will form the basis of the NSMV power plant

Credit: Wabtec

teaching and crew complement, and the operational flexibility and scope for engine optimisation afforded by a dieselelectric setup. The diesel-electric mode yields efficiencies in meeting the variable and non-continuous operating profile of the mainline sea training role, allowing power production to be precisely matched to pertaining energy requirements.

The chosen layout involves four main generator sets, twin electric propulsion motors, and a single screw.

As per the recent contract announcement by Wabtec Corporation, the final choice as to the genset engines has settled on vee-type diesels of the 250-series. Brought into the Wabtec portfolio last year through the merger with GE Transportation, the 250 has provided the NSMV project team with a home-grown powering solution, and one that ensures strict emissions compliance without the need for exhaust aftertreatment plant.

The order placed by MARAD calls for two shipsets of engines, entailing eight examples of the 16-cylinder vee-form model, all to be manufactured at the Grove City factory in western Pennsylvania. The deal is worth more than US$10 million, and denotes a further endorsement of a robust, efficient class of medium-speed unit which achieves EPA Tier 4 and IMO Tier III compliance purely by engine-internal means.

The V250 series is claimed to reduce potentially harmful emissions by up to 70%, incorporating features such as an upgraded control system, high-pressure common rail fuel injection, two-stage turbocharging, and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). Obviating the requirement for emissions abatement equipment also dispenses with the space, cost and handling implications of the associated urea aftertreatment medium.

The NSMV original draft specification had indicated a 15,680kW total power concentration in a four genset installation, representing 3,920kW per unit, although the precise engine type had then still to be nominated.

Subsequent MARAD documentation has put per-engine power at 4,200kW, equating to the maximum continuous rating (MCR) of the 16V250MDC in its 900rpm version.

The Wabtec diesel engines will be integrated into generator sets produced by a partner company in the NSMV programme in each of the first two newbuilds firmly ordered to date from Philly Shipyard. Only distillate fuel will be used, as the ships’ regular voyaging will be within Emission Control Area (ECA) waters. Accommodation heating can be accomplished using hot water from the engine cooling system.

The design configuration and nature of engineering arrangements adopted makes for a high degree of redundancy in all main systems. The four genset aggregates will be distributed between two separate, contiguous engine rooms, and the two propulsion motors will be installed on the single shaftline in separate motor rooms. Moreover, the layout favours training procedures. Having separate machinery rooms allows cadet instruction to take place in one compartment when the vessel is operating at reduced speed on fewer gensets during training voyages.

The ships will sail at slower speeds during training voyages, because time at sea is of greater importance than making port quickly. Safe return to port should be possible even in the case of loss of main propulsion up to and including the main shaft and propeller. This is to be achieved by the use of a drop-down azimuthing bow thruster to propel the vessel at about six or seven knots.

Bow and stern thrusters together with a flap-type rudder will enable the NSMV to manoeuvre and moor without tugs in all but the most adverse conditions.

Although work on two existing MARAD sisterships managed by TOTE Services has sustained a certain level of

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SEPTEMBER 2020 | 49

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THE GAS TURBINE COMETH

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The international magazine for senior marine engineers EDITORIAL & CONTENT Editor: Nick Edstrom editor@mercatormedia.com News Reporter: Rebecca Jeffrey rjeffrey@mercatormedia.com Correspondents Please contact our correspondents at editor@motorship.com Bill Thomson, David Tinsley, Tom Todd, Stevie Knight

A question asked in the September 1970 issue of The Motor Ship was: “Are American gas turbines to dominate the marine market?”.

The idea may seem fanciful now, but the writers noted that the prospect of gas turbine ship propulsion had been the subject of speculation for over 12 months. The proposal had gained momentum with a large investment by the US authorities into the development of large industrial gas turbines for marine use. Previously, aero-derivative engines had been marinised for naval vessel propulsion, but the latest joint venture with General Electric was looking at 12,000 to 60,000 hp engines for large container ships capable of travelling at 30 knots-plus. Gas turbines, the article said, lent themselves to automatic and pollution-free operation, though the fuel consumption hurdle still needed to be overcome.

In the combustion engine world, the focus of attention was Pielstick’s new high-speed PA 6-280 engine, rated at 350bhp/cylinder at 1050rpm. With cylinder numbers from six to 18, in both in-line and vee configurations, it was intended for main and auxiliary power in merchant and naval vessels as well as a range of land-based and industrial applications.

Compact and light in weight, with a clean external appearance, it looked suitably up to date.

The main ship description looked at a new breed of cross-Channel ferry, Townsend’s Free Enterprise V, built for service between Dover and Zeebrugge.

Powered by a triple-screw plant with MAN RBL 6612 medium speed engines, the ship was capable of 21 knots, offering a capacity increase of 14% over its predecessors. Built with doors and ramps at both ends, the vessel was designed for rapid turn-round of a wide variety of vehicles and cargo in each port. Each of the three engines was rated 4,080 bhp at 285 rpm and drove a Kamewa CP propeller, burning 40s marine diesel oil at a rate of 23t/day. The two outer engines were reversing, but the centre engine, arranged to drive an alternator at constant speed, was uni-directional. Nevertheless, all three engines could be used together for manoeuvring - with an astern speed of 15 knots available if needed - thanks to a clever arrangement of clutches and couplings.

Electrical power for domestic services was supplied through three separate Allen-powered gensets. The machinery was controlled from a “small but neat”

52 | SEPTEMBER 2020

8 Townsend’s latest ferry, Free Enterprise V

control room sited between the main engines and auxiliary systems. Another novel feature was an oil-filled passive tank stabilising system to provide improved passenger comfort.

A recent development in cargo carrying was reported in the September 1970 issue. A French company, Technigaz, had scored notable success in transportation of liquefied gases, and had supplied specially-designed containment systems for 40 ships from 600m3 capacity up to a new class of 75,000m3 methane carriers being built at Saint-Nazaire. The membrane tanks with corrugated stainless steel linings looked remarkably similar to the products of the company’s successor, GTT, which supplies most of today’s much larger gas tanker fleet.

Shipbuilding was expected to be shaken up by a system, developed and patented by Blohm & Voss of Germany, in which the accommodation in cargo vessels would be provided by pre-fabricated unitised modules. These would be supplied to standard dimensions, fully fitted out, and intended to reduce the cost of building and installing living quarters onboard, as well as improving comfort and safety thanks to the use of soundproofed, fire-resistant materials. To date, the system had been ordered for some 18 ships of varying types. It was reported that one of the first applications of the system had allowed a ship with accommodation for 37 personnel to be delivered just four weeks from launch.

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by Mercator Media Limited Spinnaker House, Waterside Gardens, Fareham, Hampshire PO16 8SD, UK t +44 1329 825335 f +44 1329 550192 info@mercatormedia.com www.mercatormedia.com

Subscriptions Subscriptions@motorship.com or subscribe online at www.motorship.com Also, sign up to the weekly TMS E-Newsletter 1 year’s magazine subscription £GBP178.50 UK & EURO Post area £GBP178.50 Rest of the World © Mercator Media Limited 2020. ISSN 0027-2000 (print) ISSN 2633-4488 (online). Established 1920. The Motorship is a trade mark of Mercator Media Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine can be reproduced without the written consent of Mercator Media Ltd. Registered in England Company Number 2427909. Registered office: Spinnaker House, Waterside Gardens, Fareham, Hampshire PO16 8SD, UK. Printed in the UK by Holbrooks Printers Ltd, Portsmouth, PO3 5HX. Distributed by Mail Options Ltd, Unit 41, Waterside Trading Centre, Trumpers Way, London W7 2QD, UK.

8 The Technigaz membrane-type gas tank from 1970

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