News of our company

On 27 October 2021, the V Conference "LNG Fleet, LNG Bunkering and Other Alternatives", organised by the information and analytical agency PortNews, took place in partnership with Gazprom and Sovcomflot.
 
The Maritime Engineering Bureau presented a report at the conference "On the use of methanol and prospective designs for electrically powered river-sea going vessels".
 
In the report special mention is made of the running tests of the lead Baltic automobile-railway gas-engine ferry CNF19M project for Ust-Luga - Baltiysk line "Marshal Rokossovsky" which took place on October, 23^rd and 24^th. The LNG-powered ferry showed a speed of 17 knots, compared to the design speed of 16.5 knots.
 
Describes the creation, by the order of Volgotrans, of a training and production combined passenger vessel / dry cargo vessel, project PV30 "BBK (White Sea-Baltic Canal) max" class mixed navigation with the ability to operate in the Arctic with zero emissions ("Greenship").
 
Purpose of PV30 project vessel - transport-training diesel-electric and LNG passenger/ dry cargo vessel with two double wheelhouses, with one cargo hold, intended for training of students of navigation schools and institutes and other specialties in the process of transportation in mixed "river-sea" and maritime traffic of general and bulk cargoes (including grain), Packaged sawn timber, round timber, scrap metal, metal in bundles and coils, bulky, long and heavy cargoes, coal, international containers, with the possibility of operating on batteries in a zero-emission mode ("Greenship").
 
The needs of modern vessels including river-sea navigation vessels (RST27M, RST12C, RSD59, RSD59H, RSD71) using alternative fuels are shown.
 
The analysis was based on methanol as one of the possible fuel options of the future.
 
Benefits for using it on a vessel. Environmentally friendly (low carbon content, even compared to LNG). No emissions of the extremely dangerous greenhouse gas, methane, which is typical for LNG. Liquid up to +65°C that considerably simplifies transportation of fuel itself, its bunkering and storage on board without extremely expensive special tanks and special technologies of transshipment. Minimal loss of vessel space, suitable for dual-fuel diesel engines.
 
Considering the difference in density and heat of combustion (the amount of heat released during combustion of 1 kg of fuel), different amounts of fuel of different types will be required to provide the same autonomy of sailing. As LNG is stored in insulated cylindrical tanks, the space required on a vessel for LNG storage is several times the volume of LNG itself. For example, on the RSD59 in the gas-engine version this ratio is 1:4 (tank capacity 250 m³, room volume approx. 1000 m³).
 
For example, to store 4,270 hectojoules of energy - that's 100 tonnes of 119 m³ diesel in a 131 m³ tank - would require 215 tonnes of 271 m³ methanol in a 298 m³ tank. For information, LNG has 88 tonnes, 204 m³ and 815 m³ respectively.
 
In other words, methanol reduces vessel capacity losses by a factor of 2.7 compared to LNG.
 
Disadvantages. Low heating value requires 2.1 times the fuel volume compared to diesel.
 
Flash point below 60°C, with associated consequences for equipment and placement in the engine room, reserve tanks and fuel system (LNG - similar).
 
A strong neurovascular poison.
 
Low auto-ignition temperature (455°C), low cetane number, requiring structural measures to ensure ignition of the fuel in the cylinders (pilot diesel feed). High volatility, to the point of formation of vapour locks in the fuel system. Lower viscosity impairs lubrication of plunger pairs and other engine components. Increased corrosion and electro-corrosion activity precludes the use of aluminium, polymer and rubber elements in both the diesel and fuel systems.
 
However, MAN, ABC and Wartsila have solved these technical problems and have appropriate engines, mostly low-speed ones.
 
The first methanol-powered vessel appeared in 2015 - the car-passenger ferry Stena Germanica (240 metres, 1,500 passengers, 300 cars) with a Wartsila medium-speed diesel engine was retrofitted.
 
Low-speed methanol engines are in production and medium-speed diesels are available for delivery in the next 2 to 2.5 years, subject of interest from shipowners.