Wärtsilä and Lloyd’s Register held a joint industry seminar in Shanghai in April to provide the Chinese shipping industry with key insights into LNG as a ship fuel.
Wärtsilä and Lloyd’s Register held a joint industry seminar in Shanghai in April to provide the Chinese shipping industry with key insights into LNG as a ship fuel.
Wärtsilä’s gas experts Liang Shi Zhong and Barry Yang together with Lloyd’s Register’s Joseph Morelos, a senior surveyor and global expert in gas as a fuel, presented different aspects on the use of LNG as a fuel to an audience of close to 60 Chinese shipyard representatives along with Chinese and European shipowners.
“Class has established general frameworks and solutions such as Lloyd’s Register’s Rules for Natural Gas Fuelled Ships but the final application definitely needs a case-by-case analysis by the engineering experts” said Mr Morelos.
In his speech, he highlighted that safety, not just availability, of bunkering solutions is a key factor in the use of LNG as a fuel. He cited the biggest difference between LNG carriers and LNG-fuelled vessels as being the definition of the ‘gas dangerous area’. While in carriers this is limited to a clearly defined space, it could be spread out over several areas within the vessel types that use LNG as a fuel.
Liang Shi Zhong, deputy general manager for technical sales support at Wärtsilä, shared its expertise in gas-fuelled engines before Mr Yang, the company’s segment sales director, touched on the latest LNGPac solution offered by the Finland-based enginebuilder.
Mr Yang sees a requirement for differing storage tank locations depending on the vessel and that close cooperation between class, equipment suppliers and shipyards is needed to find a suitable solution that satisfies all safety requirements.
Elsewhere the topic has been similarly hot. With the continued depression of newbuilding prices, especially for bulk carriers, LNG ships and the large sized offshore equipment market will be vital for Chinese yards, as well as LNG-powered innovations, Bao Guoqi, deputy secretary general of Jiangsu Shipbuilding Engineering Association said at a recent industry forum.
“The LNG hybrid power ship has great advantages on reducing energy consumption, water pollution and air emission. The next period will be the crucial period to replace the traditional diesel power by LNG hybrid power,” Mr Bao said. MP
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