CR Ocean Engineering tells Container Shipping & Trade about the considerations and benefits gained when it came to supplying scrubbers to Matson container ships
Over the past five years, CR Ocean Engineering (CROE) has supplied exhaust gas scrubbers to Matson Navigation Co (Matson) for seven container ships.
Matson is a Hawaii-based company that has been a leader in the Pacific shipping trade since 1882. The company is listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol ’MATX’. CR Ocean Engineering (CROE) is based in New Jersey and specialises in the design and supply of exhaust gas scrubbing systems for the marine industry.
Matson had been investigating scrubbers for some time and when ready to make the move, it evaluated several scrubber vendors before it selected CROE as supplier of choice for these projects. CROE attributed that selection to its significant experience in scrubber designs, the company’s longevity, familiarity with the CROE staff and CROE’s US location, which would help with communications and long-term logistics.
The seven Matson container ships with CROE scrubbers are Manukai, RJ Pfeiffer, Maunalei, Manulani, Manoa and Mahi Mahi. All of these vessels had very tight funnels that required special scrubber designs to properly fit, with CROE customising a combination of designs used to fit each vessel. These included some with the usual bottom entry, some with side entry and some that were square instead of with the typical round tower.
All of Matson’s scrubbers are initially provided as open-loop systems with the ability to be retrofitted to closed loop. The systems are able to run dry even with high exhaust temperatures in cases where low sulphur fuel is used or in emergencies.
For funnels where the exhaust piping layout did not favour bottom inlet towers, the CROE side inlet tower was provided for a better fit. And in the cases where the funnel was even smaller, a CROE square/rectangular tower design was used to utilise more of the available space in the funnel, as the area of a square with each side being the same as the diameter of a circle will provide more area than the circle.
The problem with square towers is if not designed properly, they could have welding failures at the 90o corners. To avoid potential welding problems, CROE utilised bent corners where the welding was on the flat side of the scrubber, rather than at the more sensitive 90o corner itself. Similar square/rectangular designs had been used over many years on land applications and with other marine clients.
The schedule was a significant consideration for the Matson projects. CROE took on that challenge and instituted a detailed procurement and inspection programme to ensure all components and fabrication was completed, inspected and delivered on time.
CROE is happy to report all the installed systems have been operating extremely well and are allowing Matson to use the same heavy fuel they had been using for years and in so doing, making the crews more comfortable with the engine operation while earning daily fuel savings. Another benefit to Matson is the CROE aftermarket spares and service capabilities.
The relationship between the two companies has allowed seamless, smooth sailing. Having gained significant experience with all types of scrubbers, CROE’s aftermarket group provides parts and services not only for the CROE scrubbers but also for any other brand of scrubbers.
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