Page 24: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 2011)

24Maritime Reporter & Engineering News Great Shipsof 2011Höegh LNG (together with its partnerMitsui OSK Lines), has proven its sound environmental credentials with two new shuttle and regasification vessels (SRVs) for GDF Suez. The vessels have many technological characteristics that set them apart from other vessels of their type. Höegh LNG?s President and Chief Ex- ecutive Officer, Sveinung Støhle, said that the SRVs the GDF Suez Cape Ann and GDF Suez Neptune demonstrate thecompany?s approach to sustainable ship- ping. ?In our view, it is not enough merely to comply with applicable regu- lations and the demands of the charterer- we have an obligation to take a more proactive approach to utilize the best available proven technology to improve our environmental and safety perform- ance,? he said. The SRVs are equipped to store, transport and vaporize LNG, and to send out natural gas via the turret buoy which is connected to a subsea pipelineby means of a flexible riser. The SRVs measure 283 x 43m, with a beam of 43.4m and a depth to upper deckof 26m. The vessels have a gross tonnage of 96,153gt each. They were built by Samsung Heavy Industries in Geoje Is-land, Korea and are jointly owned by Höegh LNG and Mitsui OSK Lines and are managed by Höegh LNG for GDF Suez under 20-year time charter agree-ments. The vessels will discharge natural gas under high pressure directly into the designated US Environmental Protection Agency- permitted GDF Suez Neptune LNG Deep Water Port, offshore Massa- chusetts, but can also operate world-wide as a conventional LNG carrier. The vessels operate on a closed loop re- gasification system with an intermediate loop, which complies with U.S. require-ments and entails a minimal impact onthe environment. Closed loop systems have no intake/discharge of seawater in the regasification process, which means that they do not harm the marine ecosys- tem by either taking in marine life intothe plant or discharging cold water af- fecting the existing life. Also, this system ensures no risk of pollution from poten-tial leaks in the seawater pumps and re- gasification system reaching the marine habitat. Both vessels have been classed with DNV?s Clean Notation and also have the classification society?s Green Passport, covering all environmental issues throughout the vessels? lifecycle from construction to recycling. Another characteristic that sets thesevessels apart is the fuel system. TheSRVs are both tri-fuel. This conceptmeans that they are capable of being fu- elled by marine diesel oil (MDO), heavy fuel oil (HFO) or natural gas. Dual fuel engines when running on natural gas are more environmentally friendly than en- gines that run on HFO as they eliminate sulfur oxide (SOx) and particulate matter(PM) emissions.The regasification boilers onboard the SRVs are gas-fired and have low nitrogen oxide (NOx) burners and both vessels are equipped with selective catalytic reduc- tion (SCR), keeping emission below 5ppm. The SCR units fitted on the power generators reduce the NOx emissions ofthe vessels and by a very healthy margin ? 0.2g/kWh while the current IMO re-quirement is around 13g/kWh. The oxi- dation catalysts installed on the power generators reduce the CO emissions tobelow 0.165g/kWh. By comparison, the current EU requirement for diesel en-gines (road traffic) is 4g/kWh. Höegh LNG also invested in an advanced bio- cide-free silicone-based anti-fouling sys-tem, developed by International Paint, an environmentally friendly coating solution which helps reduce fuel costs and re-duces carbon output. STRENGTHENED TANKS LNG vessels are typically classified by their cargo containment designs andHöegh LNG has chosen what are be- lieved to be the ?strongest membrane tanks ever built? - reinforced GTT MkIII containment tank design with a capacityof 145,000 cu. m. The GDF Suez Cape Ann and GDF Suez Neptune are fitted with state-of-the- art regasification skids by Hamworthy for a total maximum output capacity of ap-proximately 21 million standard cubicmeters of natural gas per day. The ves- sels are also capable of operating as stan-dard LNG carriers.GDF Suez Cape Ann & GDF Suez NeptuneGreen focus for Höegh LNG SRVs Seaways 20Multi-Purpose, DP2 Tug & OSV The Multi-purpose tug and offshore support vessel, Seaways 20, designed by Robert Allan Ltd. of Vancouver BC, and built by Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd. Shipyard in Singapore has been delivered to its owners, SeawaysInternational . This unique vessel is the latest of the Robert Allan Ltd. RAmpage series of Offshore Support Tugs (OST) which was initially con- ceived to fill a gap seen in the offshore market for a high-performance, multi- function tug for towing, anchor-han- dling and for other many offshore support duties. Propulsion machinerycomprises a pair of MaK GM 25Cdiesel engines; each rated 2970 kW at750 rpm, each driving a Schottel SRP 3030 Z-drive with a 3400 mm diame- ter CP propeller in a nozzle. This com- bination delivered a rated Bollard Pull of more than 100 tons. A free running speed of 14.4 knots was achieved on trials. Maneuverability is enhanced by a controllable pitch type bow thrusters, Schottel STT2 FP, electric motor driven, rated at 500 kW each. The ves- sel is equipped with a DP2 system.Seaways 20 was assigned a Green Passport and ENVIRO+ notation by ABS. The vessel will implement re- quired procedures to deal with ballastwater, sewage, and garbage manage- ment. Seaways 20 is equipped with a Fi-Fi 1 system comprising two fire pumps, each rated 1600 cu. m./hr. and driven by the main engines through a front PTO. There are two combination water/foam monitors, each rated 1200 cu. m./hr., as well as a complete del- uge system, fed via a branch of theFiFi system. Owners....................................Seaways International Builder...........................Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd. Length, o.a...........................................................55m Breadth, molded..................................................15m Depth, molded....................................................7.3m Draft, load Line..................................................6.4m DWT, loadline.............................................1075 tons GT.......................................................................1715 Machinergy............2 x MaK GM 25C diesel engines Z-drive....................................2 x Schottel SRP 3030 Speed.............................................................14 knots Classification..............American Bureau of Shipping MR Dec.11 # 3 (18-24):MR Template 12/6/2011 9:40 AM Page 24