Wärtsilä Voyage has delivered and installed customised LNGPac bunkering and liquid cargo handling simulators at the Mumbai training centre of Hong Kong-based Anglo-Eastern Univan Group
This is a new product for the marine market – a result of the increased adoption of LNG fuel by fleet owners and the consequential need to ensure crews are sufficiently trained in operating LNG-fuelled vessels. The order was placed in June 2020 and the project was completed in October 2020.
This voyage simulator is based on Wärtsilä’s gas valve unit and LNGPac fuel storage, supply and control system technologies, and includes all auxiliary systems needed in connection with the LNG fuel supply.
The system has been tailored to meet the specific requirements of Anglo-Eastern, complying with the International Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) for training seafarers on gas-fuelled ships, in line with the standards demanded by the IGF Code. The Wärtsilä scope includes a full mission liquid cargo handling simulator that replicates a real ship system, an LNG bunkering and fuel gas supply simulator, and a full mission engineroom simulator.
Anglo-Eastern managing director of QHSE and Training, Captain Pradeep Chawla said “We were the first private ship management company to install Wärtsilä’s ship handling simulators, and we are again pioneering comprehensive simulation training in LNG bunkering and cargo handling operations. We consider this to be an extremely important step in ensuring the safe and efficient running of our LNG-fuelled vessels.”
The Mumbai training centre has been supplied with ECDIS, ship handling and bridge simulators, and both ship handling and engine simulators for Anglo-Eastern’s Odessa training centre. In 2019, Wärtsilä Voyage also received an order to provide its fleet operation solution (FOS) for more than 600 ships managed by Anglo-Eastern, representing the largest-ever maritime software deal.
“Crew training has to keep pace with the marine industry’s transition to new and cleaner fuels. LNG is already well established as a marine fuel, so our development of this simulation solution meets the industry’s need in a timely fashion. It covers the entire LNG fuel system from bunkering to operating LNG dual-fuel engines, and prepares ship crews to handle all related systems safely and correctly,” said Wärtsilä Voyage Hong Kong sales director Ashok Sharma.
The company also announced the first installations for its Compact Reliq system which was introduced earlier this year. The system will be installed aboard two new LNG carrier vessels being built for Norway-based Knutsen OAS Shipping. The ships are to be built at the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea as part of an order which includes an option for an additional two vessels.
The system was designed to reliquefy boil-off gas (BOG) on board gas carriers and LNG bunker vessels and to keep cargo cool. The Compact Reliq is based on the company’s proprietary Brayton technology that allows a portion of the BOG to be utilised as fuel for the vessel, while the excess can be liquefied and sold with the LNG cargo.
Knutsen OAS Group’s newbuildings director Jarle Østenstad said “Wärtsilä is a trusted partner with whom we have worked in the past. The first generation nitrogen based reliquefaction plant is highly reliable, efficient, and of good quality, so we had no hesitation in selecting the Compact Reliq for these new LNG carriers.”
The system will be instrumented for remote monitoring and online operational support as part of Wärtsilä’s Operational Performance Improvement and Monitoring programme. The equipment is scheduled to be delivered to the yard commencing in February 2022, and the vessels are expected to begin commercial operations from late 2022. Wärtsilä has previously supplied Knutsen OAS Shipping with earlier generation reliquefication plants for six of the company’s vessels.
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