New DEME Hopper Dredge Will Operate on LNG
The DEME Group has ordered a new generation of its Antigoon class dredge. Named the Scheldt River the dredge is being built by Royal IHC in the Netherlands. It will be powered by Wärtsilä dual-fuel (DF) engines and will be the first dredge to operate engines capable of using either liquefied natural gas (LNG) or conventional marine fuels.
The 104 meter long (341 foot long) vessel will have a hopper volume capacity of approximately 8000 cubic meters (10464 cubic yards). The contract with Finnish company Wärtsilä which pioneered the use of LNG as a marine fuel was signed in July.
Wärtsilä will supply one 12-cylinder and one nine-cylinder 34DF engine two Wärtsilä controllable pitch propellers and two transverse thrusters as well as the company’s patented LNGPac gas supply and storage system. The engines have a power output range from 3000 to 10000 kW at 500 kW per cylinder.
A six-cylinder in-line Wärtsilä 34DF engine. Wärtsilä is supplying a nine and a 12-cylinder version of the 34DF for the new Scheldt River along with two Wärtsilä controllable pitch propellers two transverse thrusters and the company’s patented LNGPac gas supply and storage system.
The 34DF engines can run on either LNG or diesel fuel and the operating mode can be changed while the engine is running without interrupting the power generation. If the gas supply fails the engine will automatically transfer to the diesel mode.
In LNG operating mode the gas is injected into the engine at a low pressure and ignited by injecting a small amount of pilot diesel fuel. In diesel operating mode the engine operates on liquid fuel oil with a conventional diesel fuel injection system.
The LNGPac is a complete system for LNG fuel handling and on-board storage and includes the bunkering station the LNG tank and tank connection space process equipment the heating media skid and the control and monitoring system.
The Wärtsilä gas valve unit (GVU) is a module located between the LNG storage system and the dual fuel engine. It regulates the gas pressure and ensures a safe disconnect when necessary. Combining the LNGPac and the GVU into a single fully integrated system saves considerable space and provides for uncomplicated installation.
Wärtsilä is finding that the LNGPac is a valuable enabler for LNG as a marine fuel. The compact and technically advanced version enhances safety and reliability while reducing capital and operating expenditures.
“Environmental considerations are extremely important for every new vessel built today and the ‘Scheldt River’ will easily comply with all local and international environmental regulations. Operating on LNG will allow DEME to set new standards in minimizing harmful emissions. Wärtsilä’s dual-fuel know-how and in particular the 34DF engine series made our concept feasible” said Jan Gabriël Head of the New Building and Conversion Department at DEME.
The Wärtsilä 34DF was introduced in 2008 and was based on the Wärtsilä 32 engine platform. In 2013 it was upgraded to provide 11 percent more power and increased efficiency without changing the physical dimensions. Wärtsilä received an order in June to supply a comprehensive integrated propulsion solutions package for a large technologically advanced self-propelled cutter dredge under construction in China – the second dredge to use a dual fuel system.
In the first half of 2015 Wärtsilä was awarded contracts for 56 Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel auxiliary engines for 14 new LNG carriers being built for four different owners. This means that Wärtsilä has already received orders for nearly 100 such engines from these three yards since the 34DF was re-launched with a higher MCR (maximum continuous rating) in 2013. All these orders were placed by South Korea’s three leading shipyards and the ships are being built for European American and Asian owners.
“The Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engine is a powerful versatile and efficient engine that is helping shipping move into the gas (LNG) age. The impressive track record of 100 engines sold in a two year period speaks for itself. While the success has been universal with contracts from yards and owners globally the fact that the world’s largest shipbuilding nation South Korea is increasingly opting for the Wärtsilä 34DF is especially gratifying” said Lars Anderson vice president of Engine Sales for Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.
