Artist rendering of LNG-fuelled Atair
Marine technology group Wärtsilä is to supply the engines, and LNGPac system for complete fuel gas handling, for a new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) fuelled research vessel being built for the German government. The vessel is under construction at the Fassmer shipyard in Germany and will be owned by Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH), the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency.
Furthermore, Wärtsilä will supply exhaust cleaning systems based on selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology, needed when the engines are running on conventional marine diesel fuel if the vessel exhausts its supply of LNG on long voyages. The contract was signed with Wärtsilä in June 2017.
The new 75 metres long ship, the Atair will replace her 30 year old namesake, and will be the first German research vessel operating on LNG fuel.
The full scope of Wärtsilä’s supply for the Atair is two 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel engines capable of running on either LNG or conventional liquid fuels, one 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 20 engine, two exhaust cleaning systems, and a Wärtsilä LNGPac fuel storage, supply, and control system.
The engines will have Tier III classification since the dual-fuel engines comply with this classification when running in gas mode, and all the engines will be compliant when operating on diesel because of the Wärtsilä SCR systems. Furthermore, the engines will be double elastically mounted to minimise the noise. This special Wärtsilä technique will enable the ship to fulfil the DNVGL classification society’s ‘Silent R’ rating, thus allowing the sonar equipment to be used without disturbance from underwater radiated engine noise.
“Our dual-fuel technology is unique when it comes to small bore medium speed engines, and the extended service intervals and economic fuel consumption of the Wärtsilä 20DF engine enable lower operating costs than is possible with high speed engines. We have worked closely with the Fassmer shipyard and are proud to have once again been selected to supply the machinery and equipment for this important project,” says Lars Anderson, Vice President, Engine Sales, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.
“With Wärtsilä’s dual-fuel and SCR technologies, the vessel will fulfil the IMO’s Tier III regulations in all operational conditions, whether sailing on LNG or on diesel fuel,” says Kai Twest, Head of Ships and Equipment Division at BSH.
The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled to be delivered to the yard in mid-2018, and the vessel will enter service in early 2020.
Source: Wärtsilä Corporation
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