DNV GL is co-operating with several leading shipbuilders and shipowners in Asia in the development of new vessel designs
In January 2017 DNV GL agreed to participate in a joint industry project with Australia’s BHP Billiton and Woodside Energy, Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines, Singapore’s Rio Tinto Marine, and Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute in China. The project is called Green Corridor and will assess the commercial potential of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuelled vessels operating between Australia and China, with the aim of creating a next generation Capesize design. This design will undergo approval in principle under new DNV GL rules.
The project’s objectives are to build and assess the business case for LNG as fuel for Capesize bulkers operating in the trade between Australia and China, and to develop an efficient LNG fuelled Capesize concept design. These activities will be run together, with the immediate results generated from one project fed into the other.
In another project, DNV GL worked with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea on a joint development project for an innovative design for an LNG carrier. The results were presented at the Gastech exhibition and conference in Tokyo in early April 2017.
The project focused on delivering a design which an owner can take straight to the yard and is ready for upcoming market trends and incoming regulations, with an optimal size, hullform, and machinery and electrical systems.
Johan Petter Tutturen, DNV GL business director for gas carriers, said: “We predict that in the years to come we will see the rise of post-Panamax LNG carrier designs which are dimensioned to fit the new Panama Canal. Capacities of over 175,000m3 are feasible, given the increased dimensions of the canal.”
An important consideration for the design is the shift towards lower, more energy-efficient transit speeds. The hull and propulsion system have been optimised for three different operating profiles on a standard transpacific route. The optimisation calculations were performed using the DNV GL hydrodynamic analysis software Wasim.
The design uses direct coupled, two-stroke dual-fuel main engines and auxiliary engines, with LNG as the primary fuel. A combined gas turbine, electric and steam propulsion system was chosen for the optimised machinery.
DNV GL gave an AiP certificate to Hyundai Heavy Industries following a development project by HHI for the innovative SkyBench container ship design that increases the cargo capacity compared with conventional designs using a sliding accommodation block mounted on rails. The AiP confirms that the design complies with DNV GL classification rules. HHI successfully tested a working 1:2 scale mock-up at its yard in Ulsan, South Korea.
© 2023 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd.