Enginebuilders primed to secure power base

A formidable armoury of facilities is deployed by leading Korean groups in producing two-stroke and four-stroke engines for propulsion and genset drives required by domestic and overseas yards

After a dearth of new business lasting many months, the major Korean yards have emerged from the doldrums and secured significant multi-ship and offshore projects to restore the country’s leading industry status. New shipping and offshore market opportunities and diversification have been successfully pursued to strengthen orderbooks and brighten prospects.

Hyundai Heavy Industries - the world's leading shipbuilder - logged orders worth US$7 billion in the first six months of this year (representing 58 per cent of its full-year target). In the same period, Samsung Heavy Industries booked deals worth $5.1 billion (compared with $1.5 billion for the whole of 2009) and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) took contracts totalling $3.2 billion.

At the end of June HHI delivered its 1,660th ship, a 22,500m³ LPG carrier for Naftomar of Greece. The industry record was achieved some 38 years after the group entered the business in 1972. Diverse ship types have been completed for 250 owners in 50 countries, the aggregate tonnage amounting to 94 million gt. HHI expects to pass the 100 million gt milestone within a year.

Samsung benefited from a revival in industry confidence with a contract from Taiwan-based Evergreen for 10 x 8,000 TEU container ships worth just over $1 billion. The L-class vessels are due for delivery in 2012/2013, the design exploiting the owner’s Greenship concept for high environmental protection and compliance. Another recent deal with Asian owners called for the construction of nine oil tankers.

Fresh markets and new technologies are vigorously pursued by Korean yards. HHI, for example, has teamed up with Maersk Tankers and DNV to collaborate in designing and risk assessing tankers for shipping CO₂ in carbon emissions abatement projects. The tankers will be semi-pressurised and semi-refrigerated, transporting the cargo in liquid form.

Wind farm installation vessels promise significant business as offshore turbine projects proliferate. DSME has a foot in the door with a contract from RWE Innogy to build two 109m-long x 40m-wide vessels designed to transport and erect up to four turbines at the same time for the Nordsee Ost wind farm off the German coast. The overall project plans some 48 wind turbine installations generating 295MW.

DSME's efforts in the offshore industry were recently rewarded with an order worth around US$568 million from Switzerland-based Allseas Group for a platform installation vessel. By June this year, the shipbuilder had booked new orders aggregating some $2.43 billion, taking its production backlog to around $34 billion.

A long-sought breakthrough in the cruise market was signalled by Samsung with a letter of intent from Utopia Residence for a high-class ship that will reportedly be unique in offering both residential and passenger spaces.

A firm contract will see the Korean yard build a 105,000gt vessel incorporating over 200 luxury residences of varying sizes and a 204-room boutique hotel. The planned amenities include a theatre, spa, casino, night club, swimming pools, marina, restaurants and private residents’ club.

Such a project, if successfully completed. will boost further Samsung bids in a prestigious market dominated for decades by a few European yards.
Samsung and other Korean yards are also keen to secure business from North European and Scandinavian ropax ferry operators, having earned earlier references from Greek and Italian owners.

Samsung has set short, medium and long-term targets to cut emissions from its Eco-Vision ships. The long-term ‘7090’ target for 2030 is to achieve a 70 per cent reduction in CO₂ emissions and 90 per cent reductions in NOx, SOx and particulate matter emissions, with ‘3080’ and ‘5090’ goals by 2015 and 2020 respectively. More environment-friendly tonnage is anticipated from more efficient hull and propulsor designs, using cleaner fuels and exploiting fuel cells.

Korean shipbuilding groups further aim to participate in an expanding market for natural gas-fuelled tonnage beyond LNG carriers. Together with Wärtsilä, Samsung plans to develop new generation ships, including crude oil tankers, with optimised LNG-fuelled propulsion installations.

The Finnish group will focus on dual-fuel large bore engines in mechanical propulsion solutions, with Samsung concentrating on designing ships to incorporate such power plants served by its own FuGaS storage and supply system.

Under a development agreement signed in February, MAN Diesel & Turbo and DSME are jointly developing and exploiting the adaptation of the Korean group’s high pressure cryogenic gas supply system to support projects based on MAN B&W ME-GI low speed engines.

Opportunities are naturally targeted in the LNG carrier propulsion sector but wider use for the Daewoo system is also anticipated from ME-GI propulsion installations in large container ships. Applying the concept to a 14,000 TEU ship, for example, could potentially reduce annual operating costs by US$12 million or more (depending on gas and oil prices), suggests YoungMan Lee, DSME senior executive vice president and board member.

Seeking to avoid licence payments to overseas LNG cargo containment system designers, Daewoo has developed its own aluminium independent-type B system for application to LNG carriers and LNG FPSO vessels as well as to future LNG-fuelled ships. The new ACT-IB system can accommodate up 210,000m³ of LNG and will be offered in addition to DSME’s conventional membrane-type containment design.

DSME has also teamed up with BW Fleet Management of Norway to develop a sulphur-tolerant selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system for reducing NOx emissions from engine exhaust at comparatively low temperatures. An optimum combination of catalyst and SCR system operational variables has been selected through testing and computational fluid dynamics.

Some Korean majors are participating in the revival of Brazilian shipbuilding through technology transfer deals. Samsung, for example, is involved with the Rio-based Atlantico Sul Shipyard, which is constructing 10 x 150,000 dwt tankers. Samsung has a 10 per cent stake in the yard, and plans with Atlantico Sul to bid for large drillship contracts from Petrobras.

As home to seven of the world's top 10 shipbuilders, Korea offers volume business to the country's formidable enginebuilding sector. Long dominant in world two-stroke engine production – with a cumulative output of 100 million bhp (73.5 million kW) anticipated in September this year – Ulsan-based Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Engine & Machinery Division (EMD) also continues to carve out a larger slice of the medium speed market.

Excellent results were reported in April this year by HHI-EMD chief operating officer Yoo Seung-nam, despite the global economic crisis and slump in shipbuilding business. He expected the depressed market to continue in the years ahead due to excess tonnage, and also cited increasingly fierce competition from Chinese enginebuilders, whose production capacity is benefiting from significant facility investment.

Nevertheless, HHI-EMD’S goals for this year to attain orders amounting to US$2.3 billion and an annual turnover of around 3.8 trillion Korean Won.

Senior representatives from HHI and Hyundai Corporation's overseas branches were urged early in 2010 to concentrate efforts on diversifying business, such that around 60 per cent of export sales are derived from diesel power plants, industrial and marine pumps, and robot systems.

“We are in need of cost reduction through more creative and innovative concepts to remain competitive in price,” says Yoo. ”With this in mind, we will focus on improving design, production and process methods to supply our clients with competitive high quality products and parts.”

High value-added niche markets will be sought to strengthen production volumes, and domestic and overseas sectors targeted with new models and products. Further upgrading and diversification of products, supported by R&D, is planned, including turbochargers for four-stroke engines, CP propellers, ballast water management systems, gearing and compressors.

A decision to invest in HiMSEN medium speed four-stroke engine production after years of licensed manufacture (particularly of MAN models) now enables HHI yards to source the diesel gensets required for newbuilding projects from within the group. Medium speed propulsion plant business from smaller ships built in Korean and overseas yards are also on the radar.

The HiMSEN engine portfolio emerged in 2001 with the simultaneous development of two models: the 250mm-bore H25/33 design (C1 Project), a joint project with the Rolls-Royce group’s Bergen Diesel, and the 210mm-bore H21/32 design (A Project) evolved by HHI itself. The initial design of the H25/33 engine (C2 Project) was modified independently to suit the Korean group’s specific requirements.

A smaller bore (170mm) engine, the H17/28 design (S Project) , was subsequently introduced for marine genset applications in 5- to 8-cylinder versions covering a power band from 575kW to 1,000kW at 900/1,000 rpm. A shorter-stroke derivative was designed for the stationary power market as well as a spark-ignited gas engine variant.

HHI strengthened its challenge to medium speed engine rivals by launching an H32/40 series (L Project) to contest the popular 320mm-bore propulsion and genset drive arena. With a specific rating of 500kW per cylinder, the design initially covered a power band from 3,000kW to 4,500kW with in-line 6 to 9-cylinder models.

A prototype H32/40 engine (an 8-cylinder model developing 4,000kW) was type approved by the major classification societies in December 2006 before commercial release of the series the following year. An impressively swift penetration of the market was achieved by the new design, boosted in particular by volume in-house demand from HHI yards for diesel gensets.

Numerous sets were booked as auxiliary power packages to serve 8,600 TEU-14,000 TEU container ships contracted at HHI and other Korean yards. Orders for H32/40P-based propulsion plant were also secured to drive small tankers and bulk carriers.

The first 9-cylinder H32/40P propulsion engine passed its official shop test at the end of March last year in the presence of the shipowner and classification society representatives. The engine was delivered the following month for installation in a 20,000 dwt bulk carrier under construction at Jiangsu Huatai Shipyard in China for a domestic owner.

Subsequent deliveries have included an H32/40P engine for powering a BV-class 16,800 dwt bulk carrier built by China’s Taizhou Jiantiaogang yard for a Bulgarian owner. The 9-cylinder model was rated to deliver 4,320kW at 750 rpm. Further opportunities are pursued for the engine as propulsion plant for bulkers and tankers in the 10,000-20,000 dwt classes for China, Turkey and Vietnam.

The upper power limit of the H32/40 series was extended to 10MW with the introduction of a V-cylinder engine programme embracing 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20-cylinder models. A V16-cylinder prototype passed its type approval tests in December 2008.

A dedicated assembly and test shop has smoothed production of HiMSEN engines, which have replaced licensed medium speed diesels from the HHI programme. An annual production capacity of 1,800 four-stroke engines can be exploited, the group claiming a global market share up to 25 per cent.

Some 1,198 HiMSEN engines with an aggregate rating of around 2,100MW were completed last year; the estimated output in 2010 will be 821 engines aggregating around 1,300MW.

Overall medium speed engine production by HHI since 1990 (licensed and HiMSEN designs) topped the 20 million bhp (14.7 million kW) mark in March this year, and by the end of June the group’s cumulative completions totalled 9,274 engines with an aggregate rating of around 15,000MW.

Various design refinements and systems will ensure that HiMSEN diesel and gas engines meet the stricter IMO Tier II controls on exhaust gas emissions mandated from January 2011. A digital electronic fuel injection system already developed for the engine family, for example, will be complemented by a Hyundai-designed intelligent engine control system (HiMECS).

A number of technologies to satisfy the even tougher Tier III NOx emission limits from 2016 include an HHI-developed selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system and a Charge Air Moisturiser (ChAM) system. An exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system is also under development to curb NOX emissions.

The latest medium speed development project takes HHI-EMD into the 350mm-bore class, its new HiMSEN H35/40G design anticipating opportunities for low-emission gas engines, initially in land-based power generation and subsequently in marine propulsion and gensets. Based on the H32/40 diesel engine, the new model targets a power rating of 480kW per cylinder at 720 rpm on a mean effective pressure of 20.8 bar, with a thermal efficiency of 47.2 per cent.

An output band from 2,800kW to 9,600kW will be covered by models with 6- to V20-cylinder configurations. Lean-burn combustion technology exploits pre-chamber spark ignition and pre-chamber micro pilot systems, contributing to CO₂ emissions some 20 per cent less than from diesel engines and NOx emissions reduced by 97 per cent to a level of 50 ppm (reportedly the world’s lowest).

A first step is to secure the high efficiency and power ratings in association with the environmental and economical goals. Some gas component design and systems will then be refined to meet classification society requirements for marine installations.

A test run of the H35/40G engine was completed at the end of May this year and, after a final durability trial, HHI plans full-scale production from early 2011.

“The successful development of this high output gas engine will give us a technological competitive edge to further expand in the world engine market,” asserts Mr Yoo.

Support for HiMSEN engine clients extends to a dedicated school set up in 2006 to provide factory training in operation and maintenance for personnel from power stations and ships. Basic, intermediate and specialist courses are offered with durations from one to 12 weeks.

Significant business from land-based power clients is traditionally enjoyed by HHI, with current projects including a 360MW HiMSEN plant for the Iraq Ministry of Electricity embracing 144 x H25/33-driven gensets.

An opportunity to strengthen business in the LNG carrier propulsion sector was taken by HHI in 2007 when it established a 50:50 joint venture with Wärtsilä to produce the Finnish designer’s W50DF medium speed dual-fuel engine. The resulting Wärtsilä-Hyundai Engine Company (WHEC) factory came on stream at Mokpo in autumn 2008, the 25,000m² facility having the capacity to deliver 100-120 such engines annually.

Eight W50DF engines with a combined rating of around 81MW were completed in the last quarter of 2008. Production was boosted to 35 sets (368MW) in 2009, and this year WHEC estimates that 34 engines (353MW) will be manufactured. The engines produced so far have been delivered to LNG carrier projects commissioned by such shipowners as A.P.Moller, BG, Ceres, Knutsen, TMT, Angola and Brunei.

A world leader in two-stroke engine manufacture based on MAN B&W and Wärtsilä designs since the 1980s, HHI expects to log a world-record 100 million bhp (73.5 million kW) of accumulated production by late September this year. An annual production capacity of around 500 low speed engines can now be tapped.

In 2009 the company completed 350 low speed engines with an aggregate rating of around 8,000MW and estimates that this year will see the production of 352 sets (6,700MW).

Recent commitments have included eight 12-cylinder Wärtsilä RT-flex96C engines for a series of 13,092 TEU container ships commissioned from HHI by the Rickmers group for long-term charter to Maersk Line. The engines have a maximum continuous rating of 68.64MW at 102 rpm and a normal continuous rating of 61.8MW at 98.5 rpm. A service speed of 24.3 knots is delivered.

Environmental friendliness has been a focus of R&D by HHI in recent years, with efforts targeting engine compliance with IMO Tier II from next January and Tier III NOx emission limits from January 2016. Design refinements to key components, such as turbochargers, fuel valves and air coolers, have been pursued.

HHI earlier this year completed the first Hyundai-MAN B&W Tier II-compliant low speed engine, a 6-cylinder S50ME-C7 model. The 500mm-bore engine is now powering a shuttle tanker recently completed at Samsung Heavy Industries for Teekay. The specification was stimulated by the shipowner’s desire to meet DNV Clean Design notation requirements for its Amundsen-class vessel, described as the most advanced and eco-friendly shuttle tanker ever built.

Shipping market ambitions beyond low and medium speed engine production (as well as large fixed pitch propellers) stimulated HHI to invest in designing and manufacturing bow thrusters from 2006. Units for larger tonnage, such as LNG carriers and container ships, have been supplemented by smaller thrusters targeting product carriers and roro vessels.

The marine cargo pump business is also successfully contested by HHI’s Hydraulic Machinery department, whose references include complete outfits for crude oil tankers and drillships: steam turbine-driven cargo pumps, auto vacuum stripping systems, ballast pumps and cargo oil stripping pumps.

HHI’s own hydraulically-driven submerged cargo pumps and associated pumping systems were developed in 2005 and some units are being manufactured for installations in diverse classes of product carriers and FPSO vessels. Addressing another valuable market, HHI has developed its own ballast water management system.

Welding robot systems for shipbuilding are another speciality of the group, its HA006C 10-axes machine with automatic transfer now in volume production for panel assembly applications.

Investment by another Korean enginebuilding major, Doosan Engine, sought to raise its annual capacity (for two-stroke and four-stroke engines) from around 6.6 million kW to 10.3 million kW thanks to new assembly shops and a factory dedicated to medium speed engines.

Doosan Engine emerged from HSD Engine, which was launched in early 2000 after an agreement the previous year between Doosan (formerly Hanjung) and Samsung to establish an independent enginebuilding enterprise. Later in 2000 the equity participation in HSD of another major Korean group, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, was accepted.

Doosan’s enginebuilding roots extend further back to 1983, however, when the company was known as KHIC and a licence agreement was arranged with what was then MAN B&W Diesel. A licence from Sulzer the following year also enabled production of the Swiss designer’s low speed engine programme (subsequently acquired by Wärtsilä). That same year saw a licence signed with SEMT-Pielstick (now part of the MAN Diesel group) covering production of the Paris-based designer’s medium speed engines.

A low speed engine debut was logged in 1984 with the completion of a 6-cylinder MAN B&W L60MC model. Among other highlights, Doosan in 2003 became the first licensee to test an electronically-controlled MAN B&W engine (a 6-cylinder S70ME-C model); and in October 2004 it tested the first 12-cylinder Wärtsilä RT-flex96C engine.

Now a valued licensee of MAN Diesel and Wärtsilä, Changwon-based Doosan claims to be the world’s second largest low speed enginebuilder after HHI-EMD. In 2008 it became only the third enginebuilder to top the 50 million bhp (37 million kW) production milestone, only 18 months after passing the 40 million bhp barrier.

Significant deliveries of Wärtsilä low speed engines are also represented in the Doosan reference list, including the world’s first-ever 14-cylinder two-stroke models. These 14RT-flex96C engines, rated at just over 80MW apiece, were built to power A.P.Moller’s Emma Maersk class container ships.

Production capacity was boosted in August 2008 by a fourth low speed engine shop, its first completion a 6-cylinder MAN B&W S60MC-C model. A new fabrication and machining shop for bedplates and frameboxes was inaugurated in April last year to supplement existing facilities in the assembly shops, doubling overall annual capacity to 250 blocks.

Some 227 two-stroke engines with an aggregate rating of around 6.06 million kW were built in 2009 by Doosan, whose target this year is 277 engines (6.22 million kW). The export production backlog includes 10 x MAN B&W 6-cylinder S70ME-C engines to power a new generation of Suezmax tankers booked by Petrobras of Brazil from domestic yard EAS.

Doosan-built low speed engines can be supplied with the company’s own-developed bearing wear monitoring system (B-WACS) to detect the impending failure of crosshead bearings, crankpin bearings and main bearings before engine damage occurs. High accuracy, compact components and a user-friendly monitoring program are cited for the system which is approved by MAN Diesel and authenticated by ABS.

Based on measuring the change in proximity of bottom dead centre relative to the engine structure, the system provides real-time wear status (value and deviation), a wear trend graph, warning/alarm and slowdown indication, and a system status display.

A Doosan-developed O-WACS oil warning and control system for measuring water content in lubricating oil is also offered to provide real-time monitoring of oil condition (water content and temperature), an oil condition trend graph, warning and alarm indication, and system status display. O-WACS can be fully integrated with the Doosan bearing wear monitoring system.

Four-stroke medium speed engines for genset and propulsion drives can be produced by Doosan under licence from MAN Diesel with bore sizes ranging from 160mm to 580mm. The genset portfolio covers auxiliary power demands from 500kW to 4,500kW per engine based on the German licensor’s ‘new generation’ L16/24, L21/31 and L27/38 designs as well as the older L23/30H and L/V32/40 designs.

Propulsive power for a range of commercial and naval vessels – from tugs to passenger ships, FPSO vessels, drillships and other offshore tonnage – can be supplied by Doosan-built MAN L21/31, L27/38, L/V32/40, L/V48/60CR and L58/64 engines, which cover an output band from 1,290kW to 21.6MW.

Some 157 medium speed engines with an aggregate rating of 248,000kW were built in 2009 by Doosan, which this year targets the production of 346 units/501,000kW.

A new factory dedicated to four-stroke engine production came on stream in 2008, reportedly with an eventual annual capacity of 1,000 sets/1.5 million kW. Other recent facility investments have included the installation of four plano miller/turning lathes to enhance crankshaft machining operations.

Another major Changwon-based enterprise, STX Engine, has been licensed to produce MAN B&W two-stroke and four-stroke engines since 1984. Connections with MAN Diesel extend over 30 years, however, through Ssangyong, now integrated in the multi-disciplined STX shipbuilding, engineering and shipping group.

Small bore MAN B&W low speed engines were added to the STX (then Ssangyong) programme in 1984, and when the upper power limit of around 4,400kW was removed licence rights were progressively extended to embrace the Copenhagen-based designer's full two-stroke series.

STX Engine now offers all MAN B&W low speed designs, ranging from the 260mm-bore S26MC to the 980mm-bore K98MC/ME models. The licensee had the distinction in 2007 of completing the first example of MAN Diesel’s new ME-B small bore programme, a 6-cylinder S40 engine developing 6,810kW at 146 rpm.

One of six ordered by Intership Navigation of Cyprus for a multi-purpose cargo ship class, the 400mm-bore engine entered service last year in the 25,000 dwt Pacific Adventure from China’s HuangHai yard.

STX Engine’s current production backlog includes four (option four) MAN B&W 7-cylinder S80ME-C engines for 400,000 dwt bulk carriers booked at STX Shipyard by the group’s own shipping company Pan Ocean for long-term charter to Vale of Brazil. Among export commitments are four 6-cylinder S50ME-C engines for powering a series of product carriers to be constructed for Petrobras by the Brazilian yard Estaleiro Maua.

MAN medium speed engines in all sizes are also licensed for production by STX Engine for genset and propulsion plant, extending from the 160mm-bore L16/24 to the 580mm-bore L58/64 series. In addition, the company fields a number of Cummins high speed engines, including the 6-cylinder/19-litre K19 design offering outputs from 330kW to 450kW.

A valuable export reference was logged this year with the delivery of Simon Stevin, the world’s largest fall-pipe and rock dumping vessel, from the Spanish yard La Naval de Sestao. A diesel-electric power plant is based on five 9-cylinder MAN L32/40 engines built by STX Engine, each rated for 4,500kW at 720 rpm.

Naval propulsion projects based on MTU high speed engines can also be pursued by STX Engine, its past and current references including main and auxiliary plant for Korean Coast Guard patrol vessels and Korean Navy KDX-I and II-series destroyers, frigates, coastal patrol combat corvettes and fast patrol boats.

A licence arranged in 2006 allows STX Engine to target LNG carrier propulsion opportunities with solutions based on MAN Diesel’s dual-fuel L51/60DF medium speed design. The 510mm-bore series is offered in 6-to-9-cylinder in-line and V12-to-V18-cylinder configurations covering a power band up to 18MW.

In-house production of crankshafts for four-stroke and two-stroke engines is undertaken by the STX Sinchon factory, completed in May 2007. These and other key components are also manufactured at the Daegu plant inaugurated in 2008. A foundry with an annual throughout capacity of 15,000 tons and a maximum part weight of 50 tons is equipped to cast cylinder frames, crankcases, frameboxes and cylinder liners in grey and ductile cast irons.

A prolific producer of turbochargers since 1989 through its Enpaco subsidiary, STX Engine extended its MAN Diesel & Turbo licence to cover the German designer’s radial-type TCR series for boosting four-stroke and smaller two-stroke engines.

Hydraulic cargo oil pumping packages for oil and chemical tankers form another STX group speciality, its system supply embracing core elements such as pumps, pipestacks, hydraulic power units, piping and fittings, and control units.

All MAN Diesel & Turbo’s interests in Korea were brought under one roof in March this year with the inauguration of premises at the Noksan Industrial Complex in Busan. The new facility is particularly geared to the group’s PrimeServ activities and incorporates a workshop, repair shop and offices.

A PrimeServ Academy is equipped with a 7-cylinder MAN L23/30 medium speed engine donated by Korean licensee Doosan Engine and a 7-cylinder MAN B&W S35MC low speed engine shipped from Denmark, which are used as teaching aids.

MAN Diesel Korea has diversified its business portfolio since foundation as a technical liaison office in 1983. Following the launch of local group purchasing and PrimeServ Busan, in 2007 and 2008 respectively, the move to Noksan consolidates all functions in one location: sales, purchasing, education, technical service and production. MP