Lloyd's Register is collaborating on a project to create a fleet of commercial coasters powered by a combination of sails and marine engine using biogas as a fuel. The project was instigated by B9 Shipping,. part of the B9 Energy Group. which operates and maintains 45 wind farms on the British Isles as well as developing tidal projects and biogas production. Estimates show that UK biomass power generators may need up to 45 million tonnes of biomass per year. B9 shipping wants to build up to 50 vessels to transport 30 million tonnes a year of wood chips, wood pellets and biocoal pellets from mainly Scandinavia by 2020. The 3,000 dwt coastal vessels are equipped with sails, with biogas powered Bergen engine(s) providing power when sail power is not available.

For more than 10 years the Viking cruise ferry MV Mariella has been successfully operating her four S.E.M.T. Pielstick 12VPC2.6.diesel engines with Humid Air Motor technology. This year the, Norwegian owned, purse seiner/trawler and factory vessel MV Kvannøy built in 2002, was converted to Humid Air Motor operation. NOx emissions were reduced by 61.3 per cent, a saving of 50 ton annually. The HAM system operates by saturating the incoming turbocharger charge air with sea water vapor before it enters the air box and then the combustion chambers. The result is a lower peak temperature in the combustion process thereby reducing NOx formation. The economic benefits of the change gives a theoretical payback time for the HAM retrofit of approx. 3 years.

Using LNG as a fuel can offer a practical and economic solution for the ship operator. Operating a ship using a fuel in a gas state requires integration of the entire chain from ship side bunkering, storage, conditioning and delivery to the engine and its conversion into power. Within a period of a few weeks, builders of dual fuel engines Wärtsilä and MAN have published their own solutions to this question. Both systems allow the ship owner to deliver/complete dual fuel with LNG propulsion system from one manufacturer and have the reassurance that the entire system is compatible including bunkering and on board storage.

The Wärtsliä Communication and Control Center (Wärtsilä 3C), connects all the separate systems used on board a vessel through a single interface providing full command and control of each individual system. It provides shipyard and ship operator with a one stop solution to the problem of integrating all the vessel’s different control systems into one package. Data may also be communicated to a remote server, for example the owner’s head office if so desired. Various systems such as optimal engine configuration, engine condition monitoring, trim management, navigation and route planning etc., are brought together under the one Wärtsilä 3C interface: it will comply with all the major classification societies.

Reederei Stefan Patjens is to retrofit a 5,000 TEU container vessel, the MV Maersk Drury for LNG operation.When completed on scheduled in 2012, it will be the very first use of LNG as a fuel on board a container ship and of LNG as a fuel in worldwide trading. The LNG fuel storage achieved using only containers. Only two of the four main MAN 7L27/38 generators will be converted for dual fuel operation as well as its auxiliary boiler will be modified.

At this year's CIMAC conference Wärtsilä presented a paper on noise reduction of medium speed engines. Changes made to the crankcase covers and camshaft covers brought the emitted sound level down by approximately 6dB(A). A multi-layer sandwich solution applied to the turbocharger casing and charge air cooler reduced noise levels 5dB(A). Engine noise emanating from th was reduced by placing an additional covering on top of the existing cylinder head valve covers. It is proposed that these optional parts will be available for current and future Wärtsilä medium speed engines providing a noise reduction of approximately 5dB(A).

A major factor slowing down the more widespread use of plug-in shore power to permit cold ironing is the lack of a safe, troublesome and easy to use standard for the shore to ship connector. Further complicating the problem is the abundance of different voltage and frequency systems found on ships of different nations. At the SMM exhibition in Hamburg last week a step closer to solving this problems was exhibited by the French company New Generation, Natural Gas abbreviated to NG2. The PLUG (Power Generation during Loading and Unloading) is a semi automatic system requiring only one sailor to operate it and to connect to the shore: no shore personnel is required..

In a bold attempt to cut down exhaust emissions to zero, a new canal cruise boat Nemo H2 has joined the fleet operated by Rederij Lovers, Amsterdam. The canal boat is similar to conventionally powered boats with panoramic windows but is of course, silent and produces zero emissions. Main propulsion is provided by a single 75 kW Voith azimuth electric thruster in the stern, with an 11 kW electric bow thruster in the bow. Electric power is produced from twin 30 kW PEM fuel cells with a 70 kWh Li-phosphate battery. The fuel cells run on hydrogen stored in six cylinders at a pressure of 35 MPa with a total capacity of 24 kg of gas. Maximum speed is 8.6 kts and autonomy at a mean speed of seven kts is nine hours.

Richard Sauter the founder of Sauter Zero Carbon Design, is showing a way forward for commercial ships of the future. Called Black Magic, she is a 4,000 ton solar hybrid vessel that claims to reduce GHG by 75 to 100 per cent by capturing energy from the sun, wind and waves. The unusual wave piercing pentamaran hull is powered by several propulsion methods solely or in combinations. A large solar cell area of 2,000 square meters allows the vessel to operate at her maximum speed of 16 kts. A high efficiency azimuth propulsion system drives counter rotating Contracted Loaded Tip (CLT) propellers. Wind propulsion produced by three pairs of fully rotational wing sails can propel the ships at 10 kts. Contributing to the low emission claims is the use of Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC® exhaust treatment on the diesel generators of the diesel electric propulsion system.

Automatic optimization of marine diesel engine performance using loop control of the cylinder pressure process has been under development for a number of years at both MAN Diesel & Turbo and Wärtsilä. Targeting the slow speed two stroke engines, the key to successful implementation of automatic loop control is reliable sensors able to accurately measure cylinder pressure, providing key data to evaluate the fuel efficiency and engine conditions. Without automatic loop control, ship engines are tuned manually to operate within safe limits while leaving a safety margin for variations in fuel properties and operating conditions. Engines are poorly balanced between cylinders and are often outside recommended deviation limits resulting in increased fuel consumption and higher CO2 emissions. The benefit of auto tuning is that the cylinder pressures are balance and at the highest acceptable pressure offering reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. MAN Diesel & Turbo, ABB, and A.P.Moller have together been running loop control projects since autumn 2007.

The recently issued annual “Stewardship Report” from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd includes some detail of its efforts and successes in implementing efficiencies across its fleet of 38 cruise ships. Fuel consumption for 2009 is reduced by 3.7 per cent. The reduction is not absolute but expressed as a ratio to the number of available passenger cruise days (APCD). The saving is partly due to the addition to the fleet of two new ships. These efficiency successes follow a number of years of measuring, testing and deploying a variety of systems including improved hydrodynamics, propeller, propulsion and hull designs. Examples of savings are widespread. Three ships have thin film solar panels on their top decks which provides electricity, on other ships incandescent bulbs are being phased out in favor of LEDs. Many of the ships have the ability to use cold sea water cooling when cruising in the Arctic or Baltic to reduce production of chilled water. Royal Caribbean’s goal for 2010 is to further increase its efficiencies.

A Canadian physicist and inventor Kazimierz Holubowicz puzzled over the low efficiency of the reciprocating engine operating under normal combustion conditions because he knew that the energy released by fuel exploding, is very much more than under normal combustion. The obvious problem was how to build an engine that would allow fuel to explode (detonate) without the engine exploding! He came up with a design that uses a second free floating piston in a very long cylinder. The free piston oscillates as the main piston is driven downwards turning the crankshaft with the exhaust in the upper cylinder expending most of its energy, harmful SOx and NOx products are dissolved allowing simple treatment and disposal. High torque, low speed and multi fuel capabilities are all attributes claimed for this engine as are low fuel consumption with zero CO and particulate emission. The linear torque vs speed characteristics of this engine make the use of a transmission unnecessary for several applications.

The UK Ministry of Defence recently announced that they are going to use ultrasonic anti fouling technology to help maintain the performance of three of its LCVP landing craft, the Australian Customs & Border Protection Service also installed ultrasonic anti fouling equipment on one of its patrol vessels. Several companies producing equipment using the same basic system of transducers attached inside the hull. These vibrations create a strong surface cleaning effect. Algae and slime is broken down and it is the absence of this preliminary surface that prevents marine growth of barnacles, weed etc: all hull materials except wood are suitable for this system. Hull openings such as water jets and tunnel thrusters and appendages e.g. pods and stern drives are also protected. Examples of vessel types for which this system is advertised are trawlers, ferries, tugs, barges and recreational power and sail.

In an earlier blog Reducing Air Drag, I mentioned the organization Greenwave. They have another wind power project called the Wind Engine.It is a mechanical sail uses the Magnus Effect and in its practical ship application has a tall cylindrical rotor as pioneered by Flettner in 1926. Test carried out by Auckland University, New Zealand, determined that the thrust produced by the Flettner rotor is eight to ten times more than a sail of equal area. Further tests with a 25:1 model ship indicate that wind assisted propulsion can deliver significant fuel and emission reductions with favorable winds and provides good maneuverability including crash stop performance. Lloyd’s Register provided technical assistance and expertise, for the construction of a full sized prototype rotor that was erected on a site in NE England. The next stage of the project is on board ship tests at sea which will be independently monitored by Lloyd's Register and is scheduled to take place during 2010.

Since 2008, there is a UK based shipping environmental charity called Greenwave that strives to develop policies that not only encourage but reward ship owners for the early adoption of technologies designed to reduce emissions. Their emphasis is on new technical solutions rather than improving existing best practices such as hull and propulsion machinery maintenance, weather routing etc.One of two wind related projects is Turbo-foil, which seeks to reduce the aerodynamic drag of ships. While much attention is devoted to hydrodynamic design, the aerodynamic design, streamlining of ships hasn't changed much over the years with the exception of warships, cruise ships and mega yachts. Tests carried out in the wind tunnel at the University of Auckland has identified where the turbulence is greatest, and where fairing should be mounted to reduce drag. According to Greenwave, practical tests demonstrate that Turbo-foil can reduce above deck drag by at least 20 per cent equivalent to an annual saving of 50 tons of fuel and 150 tons of CO2 production.

International combustion and engineering consultants Ricardo has been actively developing hybrid propulsion systems with mechanical and electrical energy storage and fuel cell systems. Ricardo believe that advanced propulsion systems can achieve fuel consumption savings between 15 and 25 percent within existing and planned international emissions regulations by implementing next generation energy management and propulsion technologies. To investigate this further, Ricardo has formed a project called the Ship Efficiency & Energy Storage Assessment consortium (SeEsA), covering energy management of propulsion and auxiliary power systems. An early project focus will be on assessing the best energy storage solutions. Under consideration will be conventional, state-of-the art battery and flywheel based systems of which Ricardo has built up considerable expertise in kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS). Their flywheel energy storage system concept called Kinergy, uses a magnetic gearing and coupling mechanism. An automotive project using a mechanical energy storage system has shown to offer several advantages over a battery based electric hybrid system.

The expansion of Emission Control Areas (ECA) in North American and European waters leaves ship owners using HFO with little choice other than to use a more expensive low sulfur HFO, change to MDO completely or use a dual fuel arrangement. The latter not only necessitates installing additional tanks and fuel handling equipment but also requires careful change over procedures to be followed every single time to avoid potential engine problems that can be very severe. An area that a few operators are pioneering is the use of exhaust seawater scrubbers. Hamworthy Krystallon produce a Seawater Scrubber that is designed to operate on a 3.5 per cent S HFO 380 fuel while complying with the EU in-port and MARPOL Annex VI requirement of a 0.1 per cent sulfur fuel. Hamworthy Krystallon early orders from Italian owner have been followed this month by an order to equip four 45,000 dwt ro-ro new builds at Daewoo. Sembawang Shipyard (SSPL), Singapore are interested in a potential retrofit project for seawater scrubbers. Switching to low sulfur fuels will create supply problems according to he International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association

Mistakes cause accidents. That is the inevitable sequence of events and we humans are the people making the mistakes, but why? What are the reasons that people make mistakes? NK’s guidelines covers how to prevent them, it focused mainly on design of equipment and operator training. Why people make mistakes? - some opinions and answers were given during the June 2010 Members Day of the marine insurance organization Swedish Club. Firstly the world crew shortage estimated at 50,000 seafarers isn’t helping the industry. Good relations, communication and training are conducive to people making the right decisions yet having the confidence to challenge questionable decisions. Capt Gustav Groenberg of Star Cruises, Malaysia pointed out the importance of recruiting the right people, offering them good working conditions to motivate and retain them. Peter Groenwoldt, MD of Harren & Partner Ship Management, Bremen’s opinion is that the reason for a mistake is always, without exception, human error caused by: lack of or poor training, ignorance or an over estimation of their skill and experience. Martin Hernqvist, MD of the Swedish Club Academy touched on the sensitive issue of culture on the individual’s ability to challenge mistakes and unsafe acts quoting the Power Distance Index as a measure of different cultures and their behavior.

The Japanese classification society NK published a 42 page booklet titled “Guidelines for the Prevention of Human Error Aboard Ships”, with the sub heading “Through the Ergonomic Design of Marine Machinery Systems.” According to the guidelines, man-made causes are said to account for 80 per cent of all marine accidents. The guidelines stress the importance of standardization in operating, control, methods, indicators, labeling and color coding to reduce confusion, avoiding the situation when crews familiar with a procedure on one ship are faced with opposites in procedure on another ship. To this end ergonomic design plays an important part so that operation of equipment is easy to understand and logical (even though logic differs by culture). A chapter covers design considerations and recommendations and there is an interesting section titled countermeasures giving advice on risk assessment and the best course of action to prevent (re-) occurrence. The publication includes a number of detailed reports of marine accidents and how to prevent their recurrence.

This June the Finnish based Eniram company from Helsinki, was selected as a finalist of an award for emerging European technology companies Eniram provide a number of products for on board and ashore monitoring of ship performance offering real time solutions. A product gaining wider acceptance for owners and operators of cruise ships, large freight vessels and tankers is their Dynamic Trimming Assistant (DTA). A number of data sensors, with software analyzing the ship’s trim, helps vessel crews optimize trim at all times, by presenting the solution in an easy to understand graphical display. DTA does this by balancing inter related variables such as minimizing water resistance, decreasing fuel consumption, use of stabilizers and reducing emissions. External items such as waves, wind and speed are also included in the analysis. In practice, this means startling savings may be achieved. Several fleet operators are using DTA including Royal Caribbean Lines and the Hamburg Sud Group. A separate but not unrelated product, is Hull Fouling Analysis used to optimize the maintenance and efficient operation of the submerged ship’s hull area.

At the recent International Tug & Salvage Conference in Vancouver details of a new hybrid tug was presented with the triple propulsion modes of diesel electric, battery and fuel cell claiming to give a 67 per cent emission savings over conventional diesel operation. Aim of this particular Hybrid Electric Tug design is to provide an operating mode of zero emissions for the majority of the tug's duty profile during low power operation up to 35 per cent of full power: this includes transits at a cruising speed of about nine knots. Based on a current conventional 24-m hull design developed by Capilano Maritime Design Ltd. with 55-tonne bollard pull, a more powerful 70-tonnes bollard pull version would only require minor changes to the hull and propulsion drives with an increase in battery capacity with diesel generator and fuel cell systems remaining unchanged. Four fuel cells of the PEM type are specified giving a total continuous power output of 600kWe, representing 17 per cent of power. There is a 1,000 kW-h capacity Li-Ion battery system which allows a combined power output of 1,250 kWe. A storage capacity of 1,200 kg of hydrogen provides an endurance of about 40 hours at full power, sufficient to allow refueling intervals of about once per week.

Last week the Third Frisian Solar Challenge took place in the Netherlands with the competitors covering a 137 mile (220 km) course over a six day period. There were a total of 40 teams comprising mainly technical colleges and universities from eight countries with the furthest one coming from Brazil. The solar boat race is divided into three classes: class A class for one-person boats, class B class for two-person boats, and the open or Top class C may have a crew of any size. To keep costs down, entries in the A and B classes are loaned solar panels, the Top class is free to use as many panels as they wish limited in practice to the vessel’s overall dimensions and a max power limit of 1750W. On board battery storage with a maximum capacity of 1kWh is permitted. The overall winner of class A was Team Sunrise (Netherlands) completing the course in 16hrs 06 mins at an average speed of 8.5mph, class B Energa Solar II (Poland) in 19hrs 25mins with an average of 7 mph and Top class Private Energy Solarboatteam (Netherlands) in 11hrs 26mins averaging 12 mph

It’s not often that we hear of a new type of piston engine that claims to be lighter, more powerful, less emissions and more efficient that the engines we have today, added to this is the capability to operate on a variety of fuels. Its design combines features of the Jumo J205 diesel aircraft engine and the venerable Volkswagen boxer engine. The inventor of this new engine is Prof Peter Hofbauer, former Director of Engine Development at Volkswagen Group, and later with the company developing the engine EcoMotors, established in early 2008. The engine is a turbocharged two stroke Opposed Piston Opposed Cylinder engine (OPOC) and as a high speed engine has automotive, marine, agricultural, stationary and generator applications. It has only one crankshaft and the opposed pistons are moved by rods attached to the single crankshaft. One cylinder module comprises of two opposed cylinders and the concept allows engines of greater power to be produced by adding more modules. The largest version of the OPOC engine module so far, has a cylinder bore of 100mm yet produces 325hp at 3,500rpm for a weight of under 300 lbs giving a power to weight ration of 1.1 hp per lb. Sluggishness in acceleration due to turbocharger lag is eliminated by the novel use of an electric motor used to spin up the turbo when the throttle is cracked open – a supercharger in effect.

There is a patented device claiming to give between 6 to 10 per cent increased efficiency to the propulsion system applying mainly to planning hulls with inboards. The BOSS (Bolt On Shaft System) as it is called, basically is a tube that encloses the immersed part of the propeller shaft and combines it with a seal and thrust bearing that is mounted directly on to the hull. The self contained unit eliminates through hull sealing and alignment difficulties, and allows the gearbox and engine to be mounted free of thrust considerations. The propeller end of the tube is supported by a P-bracket type of arrangement. For the boat builder, installation times are substantially reduced and the built-in watertight shaft seal ensures a dry bilge. For the user, the reduced losses give the benefits of lower fuel consumption, improved range or a higher top speed. It’s available for shaft diameters of one to four inches (25 – 102mm) and is claimed to lower propulsion noise and vibration.

Last month a system called ShipArrestor was tested by consortium leader Miko Marine AS, Norway as part of a two year EU funded program started in Oct 2008 to try to develop a system to prevent such disasters. In the 1990’s there was a Norwegian project called NepCon which researched possible ways to bring a stricken ship under control. It was impractical for a number of reasons but mainly because ropes chaffed and when substituted with chain of sufficient strength. it was too heavy for the helicopter to lift it! Under the ShipArrestor program a special steel chain is used that is lighter than the proposed titanium chain. So the helicopter can drop the lasso over the windlass is achieved by putting the chain inside an inflatable collar of about 6m diameter. Once the windlass is ringed, a 30m diameter sea anchor can be deployed to bring the bow round, reduce roll and slow the drifting until a tug can commence towing. In June 2010, the complete ShipArrestor system was tested and was considered a major success in proving its functionality and practicability, however the calm weather conditions were too good to give any definite indication as to how the system would behave in a real life situation. Further tests will be made: the program is due to run to September 2010.

Making possible the growth in Condition CM/CBM to improve reliability and maintenance on board ships is the development of computers connecting to compact sensors using, wired or wireless communications. The Silicon Valley-based SRI International, has developed advanced Vibration Imaging Technology (VIT). SRI recently granted Sensors Inc. a global manufacturing and distribution license to develop a diagnostic system using their VIT. The system uses a special camera and patented software enabling a computer to detect and analyze vibrations on the surface of objects in its field of view. No special lighting or physical connection to the object(s) is required. The opportunities for monitoring marine propulsion and auxiliary applications are indeed large. The system is so sensitive that images can be monitored pixel by pixel and any variation is immediately detected. Used to monitor the mechanical health of machinery with rotating parts, abnormal vibrations are immediately recognized by the system and may indicate intervention or shut down is required.

A Green Ship Event in Rotterdam hosted by the company Imtech. closed with a lively discussion following a series of “green” presentations..Although the term “Green Ship” is a fashionable term, it is very loose in meaning as it is so far undefined. When a ship is called “green” is it light green or dark green, and green in which respects? If it is only the hull color, then that is all it is but so often it is used to suggest the ship is somehow clean or non-polluting or low on emissions, exhaust or otherwise. Can you have a green ship without doing an audit of the whole life of the ship from conception through building, its life at sea and finally its end? Another important aspect is training, the ship can have several green features but if the crew doesn’t know how to use them, they won’t be used, so the greenness will fade. So in conclusion green is not an absolute state but more a relevant term. It would be better if we all started using the term “greener”, rather than green!

One of the many areas of interest as part of the Danish Greenship Project is reducing the energy consumption of the engine cooling systems. For the investigation, a MAN B&W engine in a 35,000 dwt bulk carrier is used to study both sea water and lubrication oil cooling systems. Project studies indicate that there is an unnecessarily high pressure drop and therefore flow resistance in the sea water cooling circuit resulting in wasteful energy consumption. By specifying a larger capacity heat exchanger the flow resistance would decrease permitting the use of smaller pumps with an energy saving that could be as much as 90 per cent and save 160 tons of CO2 per pump per year! Using a different type of oil pump and / or optimizing the flow through the lubricating oil recirculation system, around five per cent of energy can be saved, equivalent to more than 110 tons of CO2 per annum.

As emission requirements become stricter as the years pass, the question arises, what to do with older engines. The EPA Marine Engine Re manufacture Program introduces a law effective March 2008 to force operators of older ship engines to upgrade them to reduce emissions. The rules are rather limited, specifying that the improvement must reduce particulates (PM) by at least 25 per cent, that the engines concerned are commercial (not recreational) applications, manufactured after 1973, over 600kW, cylinder displacement under 30 liters and be a US flagged vessel. The upgrade only becomes compulsory if there is an EPA approved upgrade available and must be carried out at the next scheduled ‘re manufacturing event’ e.g. replacing cylinder liners. Changing many parts to effectively convert an old engine into a new model is usually not economic, nevertheless changing some parts can make a significant reduction in emissions. Although other ways to achieve the same end of reduced emissions are changing fuels, fuel additives or adopting an after treatment system.

Lower exhaust emissions of large bore diesel engines without after treatment, can be realized by increasing the mean effective pressure. One way to achieve a higher m.e.p. is to increase the boost pressure of the turbocharger however standard turbo designs are already at or approaching the limit of their capability to go from atmospheric pressure to the desired boost pressure in one unit: the solution is therefore to use two turbo stages. Simply, it comprises a low pressure turbine feeding via an inter cooler a second high pressure turbine which in turn passes through a second inter cooler to the engine. Control of a two stage turbo system including the suppression of compressor surging.is complex and is effected with the aid of variable nozzle rings (VTA) and bypasses. MAN Diesel & Turbo have recently announced their own series of two-stage turbos called the New TCX Generation. Using a configuration with the turbos at 90 degrees to each to provides a compact solution and reduce the amount of piping.