Samuel de Champlain Nears Completion and Will Be Featured at Upcoming Conference in France
Europe’s first conversion of a dredge to dual-fuel capability combining LNG and MGO is close to completion. This is the first conversion of its kind to take place in Europe.
Over the past 19 months, Damen has been working to deliver a turnkey package that included engineering, procurement and support. The previous propulsion system of Dragages-Ports’ Samuel de Champlain was diesel-electric burning MGO. The contract included the change of generators to dual-fuel models and the installation of onboard LNG storage facilities.
On February 26, a technical presentation on the Samuel de Champlain project took place at Damen Shiprepair Dunkerque to an invited audience of Damen customers and other companies with an interest in the technology and its potential. During the technical presentations the various challenges that the project team encountered as the conversion proceeded were discussed. The object of this was to give other vessel operators considering conversions of this type detailed insights in the process and some of its less predictable elements. The customer Dragages-Ports and the three main suppliers/subcontractors of the project spoke about their specialist roles.
The conversion project will be highlighted at the European Unions’s co-funded project the Spanish/French Sustainable Atlantic Motorways of the seas Using as fuel for Engine LNG, or S/F SamueLNG. The project results will be presented at a conference on September 18 and 19 in Saint-Nazaire, France where the retrofitted dredge will be undergoing sea trials.
The two main objectives of the SamuelNG are the preliminary studies on the development of innovative solutions for an LNG supply chain in several ports in the region, and the LNG retrofit of the Samuel de Champlain. The first half of the conference will focus on: LNG as an alternative marine fuel, the LNG retrofit of Samuel de Champlain, LNG bunkering studies, and Environmental Impact Assessment studies. The second half of the conference will feature interactive workshops to share experiences on operational aspects of LNG dredging vessels and bunkering.
The Central Dredging Association (CEDA) Working Group on Energy Efficiency will also present their results during the event. The CEDA Environment Commission (CEC) will link their regular fall meeting to the SamueLNG conference so that interested members can participate in the event.To register, visit www.samuelng.eu.
