Page 46: of Marine News Magazine (November 2023)

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Feature

Great Vessels of 2023

Corvus Energy

GREEN

DIAMOND

The United States’ ? rst plug-in hybrid electric inland cannot depend upon returning to a known dock within a towing vessel, christened at a ceremony in Houston in Au- given timeframe. This rules out battery-only inland vessels gust, arrives as the commercial marine industry continues for most trades, but the hybrid electric concept ? ts perfectly.” to implement new technologies to reduce its environmen- “Hybrid electric plants have the added bene? ts of qui- tal footprint. eter operations enhancing crew comfort as well as enjoy-

Kirby Inland Marine’s Green Diamond will be time ing the operational bene? ts of electric motors with their chartered by Shell Trading (US) Company, which will use broad torque curves and responsiveness to throttle inputs,” the vessel to push barges throughout the Houston port O’Neil added.

region. According to Kirby, the vessel can achieve an es- Kirby leveraged in-house expertise to design and build timated 80% reduction in fuel use and related emissions. the new vessel. Green Diamond was constructed by San “We are excited to be the ? rst to market with a plug-in hy- Jac Marine, Kirby’s shipyard in Channelview, Texas. An- brid inland towing vessel,” said Christian O’Neil, president other Kirby company Stewart & Stevenson Manufacturing of Kirby Inland Marine, a subsidiary of Houston-based Kir- Technologies designed and installed the power manage- by Corporation. “Barge transportation is already the cleanest ment, control and propulsion systems.

and greenest way to move a wide variety of cargoes in Amer- Chad Joost, executive vice president at Stewart & Ste- ica, and we are working to make it cleaner and greener. Our venson, said the ? rm brought to the project power man- customers who are focused on reducing their emissions want agement expertise and a track record working with high more ef? cient options. This solution is available today.” horsepower electric systems in the oil? eld. “We were able

Green Diamond’s hybrid electric propulsion system lever- to adapt that patented technology to the marine environ- ages the advantages of proven diesel-electric plants with the ment and enable this vessel to operate on shore power and enhancement of new battery technology, O’Neil told Ma- charge the batteries while on dock, then get underway on rine News. “Each inland towing vessel voyage is different, battery power. On extended trips, the generators will be with stops at various ports and terminals, such that the vessel used to supply power to the motors and charge the bat- 46 | MN November 2023