Tag: methanol

  John Kokarakis, VP Engineering, Bureau Veritas presentation during the 2015 GREEN4SEA Forum The tsunami of emission related regulations and the need for environmental friendliness also dictates the utilization of alternate fuels less polluting than HFO. The star player is LNG but  not the only player though. Future ships will burn a variety of fuels; hydrogen, synthetic fuels and biofuels will be chosen depending on the characteristic of the ship.   Nowadays, we are facing an utterly confusing and conflicting tsunami of fuel regulations. Fuel is the most expensive OPEX item and plays an important role in defining the future of the shipping industry. The drivers for new marine fuels are: regulations, financial considerations and available technology. In the future, there is going to be coexistence of multiple fuels. Be aware that the wrong fuel choice has major impact on commercial performance of the vessel. Pioneer owners may be confronted with unforeseen technical issues costing time and money. However shipping thrives through innovation and technology development. The fact that the charterer pays the fuel removes the motivation from the owners to use alternative fuels. Lack of bunkering facilities and supply chains are barriers for the introduction of new “exotic” fuels. Due to ...

  Stena Line has chosen to focus on the alternative fuel, methanol, and now the world's first methanol powered ferry, the Stena Germanica, has been launched, which operates on the route Kiel–Gothenburg. On 26 March, the Stena Germanica re-entered service after a couple of months' intermission. Now, as the world's first methanol powered ferry. Stena Line is thus the first shipping company to operate with environmentally friendly methanol as the main fuel. On Friday the 27ththere was an inauguration ceremony in Kiel and today, Monday the 30thof March there was a ceremony in Gothenburg "We are very enthusiastic about methanol's possibilities and it has the potential to be the maritime fuel of the future. We want to pursue change and development in the shipping sector and, with the Stena Germanica, our environmental impact will be completely different to what the industry has seen before," Carl-Johan Hagman says. Methanol is a biodegradable, environmentally friendly and cost efficient fuel that reduces the emissions of sulphur and particles by 99 percent. The ferry's fuel system and engines have been adapted in the shipyard in a collaboration between Stena Line and Wärtsilä. The technology is called dual fuel – methanol is the main fuel, ...

On 17 March, 2015 at MAN Diesel & Turbo’s Diesel Research Centre in Copenhagen, the company successfully demonstrated the ME-LGI concept in front of existing ME-LGI customers and partners, including Westfal-Larsen, Marinvest, Waterfront Shipping/Methanex, MES, HHI-EMD, MOL, and Minaminippon. For the purposes of the event, the company rebuilt its 50MX test engine to an ME-LGI unit. Vice President and Head of R&D, Søren H. Jensen, said: “Attendees showed great interest in the demonstration and the accompanying technical presentations; their feedback has been very positive.” He continued: “A number of years ago we identified the need to develop an engine that could run on more environmentally-friendly, competitively-priced fuels as an alternative to MDO/MGO. We believe the ability of the ME-LGI engine to run on sulphur-free fuels offers great potential. Methanol carriers have already operated at sea for many years. With a viable, convenient and economic fuel already on-board, exploiting a fraction of the cargo to power a vessel makes sense.” To date, MAN Diesel & Turbo has received orders for 7 × ME-LGI engines – a mixture of 7S50ME-LGI and 6G50ME-LGI variants – from Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Marinvest and Westfal-Larsen. The very first engine will be produced by Mitsui Engineering & ...

First Ship with Fire Safety Adapted to Methanol

Yet another milestone in the quest for alternative, more fuel-efficient sources of power will soon be marked with the conversion of the ropax vessel Stena Germanica to a dual-fuel methanol propulsion system at Poland's Remontowa shipyard. The 240-metre-long, 1,500-passenger ferry, which will be converted over a 45-day period from 28 January, 2015, will be the world's first ever methanol-powered sea vessel. Approval and classification will be by surveying teams from Lloyd's Register. Preliminary tests on a methanol-modified Wartsila engine 6ZAL40S similar to the Germanica's were overseen in Trieste by five LR teams from our Copenhagen, Trieste, Gotheburg, Venice and Southampton offices. LR's Trieste-based Lead Specialist, Roberto Costantino, said: "We carried out three days of tests on a modified engine at Wartsila's R&D laboratory so as to understand the engine performance when running with methanol. While the test engine is a similar type to the four engines on the vessel, it has fewer cylinders. So the builders are converting the existing ones on the ship." The new fuel arrangement on the Germanica, which is owned and operated by the Swedish ferry operator Stena Line, will combine methanol as its primary fuel with marine gas fuel (MGO) as a back-up power source. ...

Stena Line has announced that it will convert its vessel Stena Germanica to methanol propulsion, making it the world’s first methanol vessel. The 240m-long ferry will be converted to run on methanol at a cost of EUR22m ($27.5m), the first such conversion of its type. The 1,500-passenger ferry Stena Germanica will be the world’s first ship powered by methanol. With an aim to reduce emissions, the conversion of the vessel will take place at the at Remontova Shipyard in Poland starting January 2015. Wartsila in co-operation with Stena Teknic will be using an engine conversion kit, which will allow the vessel to operate in dual-fuel configuration using methanol supplied by Methanex. Stena line also said that they are constantly evaluating different fuels for the future and to be first in the world with a methanol conversion is a big step towards sustainable transportation.  “Our aim has always been to apply innovation to increase the benefits for our passengers and society in general. We constantly review the use of different types of fuel for the future. And now to be the world’s first owner of a ship with methanol-drive, is a big step towards sustainable transport. The project is taking shape ...

Lloyd's Register issues a collection of recent articles and news regarding LNG, Windpower, Battery powered, Air cavity system and Methanol.

'Motorways of the Sea' prjoject Image Credit: DNVThe European Union will support with 11.2 million from the TEN-T Programme a study followed by real life trials to look at the use of methanol as a possible maritime fuel of the future. The initiative also contributes to the realisation of the "Motorways of the Sea" (TEN-T Priority Project 21) concept.The study, selected for funding under the 2012 TEN-T Multi-Annual Programme, will investigate how methanol could become a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution for the maritime sector. This latter aspect is especially important as the industry must comply with the ambitious International Maritime Organisation and EU sulphur emission reduction targets.Germany, Sweden and Finland will be taking part in the project, which involves the installation and testing of methanol on an existing passenger vessel operating on the short sea route between Gothenburg, Sweden and Kiel, Germany. In addition to retrofitting the vessel, the test phase will also create the appropriate port infrastructure for the supply of methanol for bunkering. A bunker vessel and a storage tank will be built in both ports.The study will be monitored by the Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency (TEN-T EA) and is set to be completed by December ...