Damen Green Solutions (DGS), in partnership with Damen Shiprepair & Conversion (DSC) and AEC, is trialing a new technique for retrofitting scrubbers. Designated the Modular Approach, this new process is designed to cut the time that a vessel typically needs to spend in dock from two or more weeks to just a few days. The first installation of this type is already underway for the RoRo cargo vessel Stena Scotia.
According to Damen, this sharp fall in downtime is caused by maximising the amount of preparatory and manufacturing work, that can be completed before the vessel arrives in the dock. This happens in two parallel processes.
- In the first phase, the scrubbers and their supporting systems are fitted into two prefabricated modules, while still in the workshop. The first module contains the scrubber plus all the necessary piping and electronics.
- The second houses all the auxiliary equipment including the pumps, heat exchanger and separators. These can then be tested and optimised in advance of the actual installation.
What is more, preparatory works can be undertaken on board the vessel at times agreed with the ship, that do not interfere with its scheduled operations. In the case of the Stena Scotia, the preparations on board, including steelwork and pipe-fitting, will take place over a number of weekends during routine overnight stopovers.
The result of the prefabrication process plus preparation works means that when the ship does finally arrive at a Damen yard, the technical team can focus on the final stage of the retrofit process; attaching and linking up the two, fully operational modules to a ship that is ready and prepared to receive them. This last stage represents the third module of the operation.
“With the need to access the vessel during its regular operations to undertake the preparations, it is vital to work very closely with the owner and crew to make the hours available as productive as possible,” says project manager, Stef Loffeld.
