Bureau Veritas, the international classification society based in France, is to class the first conversion in the world of a containership to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). German shipping management company Wessels Reederei GmbH is to convert its 1,036 teu WES AMELIE to the cleaner marine fuel sometime in 2017.
The project is sponsored by the German Ministry of Transport and partners are Wessels Reederei, MAN Diesel & Turbo, TGE Marine Gas Engineering, SMB Naval Architects & Consultants and Bureau Veritas.
Philippe Donche-Gay, President of Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore Division says, “Our experience with this kind of conversion on small scale LNG vessels helps the owners and other partners to move confidently to this new and cleaner fuel.”
MV WES AMELIE has a MAN 8 L 48/60B engine driving a controlled pitch propeller via gearing. MAN will convert the existing engine to a 51/60 DF dual-fuel engine. The LNG tank of abt. 500 cu m will be located in the fore part of the vessel to limit the loss of cargo capacity.
Tecnitas, the consulting arm of Bureau Veritas, is carrying out risk analyses for the new LNG as fuel system and operations like LNG bunkering. Following the conversion MV WES AMELIE will meet Tier III of Marpol Annex 6 regulation.
(Source: Bureau Veritas)
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