Page 12: of Marine News Magazine (July 2014)

INSIGHTSThose MarineNews readers who are not familiar with Bob Kunkel probably should be. That?s because Kunkel, President of Alternative Marine Technologies, previously served as the Federal Chairman of the Short Sea Shipping Cooperative Program under the Maritime Administration and Department of Transportation from 2003 until 2008. He is a past Vice President of the Connecticut Maritime Association, a contributing writer for many maritime and technical trades publications, including Maritime Profes- sional Magazine and MarineNews . He continues as the Technical Advisor for several Private Equity  rms,  nan- cial institutions and Coastal Connect, developing the mar- itime component of short sea shipping and offshore wind energy along the coasts of United States. A graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Kunkel sailed with several U.S  ag companies as a licensed engineer, was commissioned as a Navy Of cer and con- tinued his career in ship construction at National Steel and Shipbuilding , San Diego, Hyundai Heavy Industries, South Korea , Chengxi Shipyard and Dalian New Shipyard in Mainland China. He is a senior member of the Special Committee on Ship Operation with the American Bureau of Shipping and an elected member of the National Cargo Bureau. Amtech is currently involved in several construc- tion supervision projects in Korea and the United States building for the Product Carrier, Chemical Carrier and Offshore markets. Bob Kunkel?s experience with marine construction and propulsion is too long to list within the pages of this publication. What he has to say about today?s challenges in the engine room is not. Follow along as Bob provides the ultimate propulsion primer as this month?s INSIGHTS focus.What?s the number one driver for engine selection to- day for workboat operators? Would it be emissions control, fuel consumption, or both? The problem in today?s market is the amount of tech- nology available and as a result no single driver to make the selection. The operator will  rst consider engine cost, performance and the ability to contract with a single man- ufacturer to control his  eet spares, crew experience and inventory. In the foreign markets, the decision is fuel per- formance based ? everything we see in Asian construction is ?ECO? driven. Heavy fuel is still being utilized and the construction takes into account the fuel tank sizes and the switch between low sulfur fuel use and heavy fuel use when entering an emissions zone. The U.S. markets, operating solely in the emissions control areas (ECA), wrestle with the emissions driven selection as they are locked into the most heavily regulated trading areas. Dual Fuel engines using natural gas as a primary fuel looked to be the answer. That said, the infrastructure to support that engine selection has not moved forward at the speed most hoped for and gas prices have been moving up. The latest buzz is now liquid gas injection (LGI) and dual fuel methanol. As we discuss emissions issues, remember there are two ?Tiers? to watch: the International IMO tiers and the U.S. EPA Tiers. There is a lot of confusion in the U.S. markets on this issue. What?s the number one mistake today?s marine opera- tors make when making repower solutions for their  eet? In our experience, the lead mistake involves the lack of communication between the operator?s commercial depart- ment and his technical department or the inability of a marine consultant to address the synergy between the two groups. A successful repowering or propulsion selection must take into account the trading patterns, operating tem-po and load patterns of the propulsion system. Does the engine run at a normal continuous rating (say 85% load) for long periods of time? Does the vessel operate at low loads for intermittent periods? Is speed or fuel ef ciency the Robert Kunkel President, Alternative Marine Technologies, Inc. July 201412 MNMN July14 Layout 1-17.indd 12MN July14 Layout 1-17.indd 126/18/2014 3:33:28 PM6/18/2014 3:33:28 PM