Capable of operating for 95% to 99% of the time on LNG fuel
A new, almost totally LNG-powered dry cargo inland waterway vessel will be operating on inland waterways in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and France.
This will be the first ever medium speed, dual-fuel, mechanically driven inland waterway vessel capable of operating for 95% to 99% of the time on LNG fuel, with a minimum of pilot marine gas oil (MGO) used for ignition – although the engines are also capable of operating fully on MGO. In addition to two 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel medium-speed engines, Wärtsilä is to supply two fixed pitch propellers in a nozzle, the coldbox, and the LNG tanks.
The 135m vessel has come about through a consortium of Koedood Dieselservice, Combi Group BV, Reederei Deymann, TNO, DST and Hochschule Emden-Leer with Wärtsilä Netherlands BV as the co-ordinating partner.
The vessel is the first of three inland vessels that will serve as pilots for innovative, environmentally sound power systems (engines and propulsion) for inland shipping. All three vessels will be designed, tested and implemented within the ECO2 Inland Vessel project, part of a larger initiative known as MariTIM (Maritime Technologies and Innovations Model), sponsored by the EU.
Source: The Motorship
