“The best available particulate matter capture technology is not to have any to start with, and that’s what burning LNG gives you.” Chad Verret, Senior VP, Harvey Gulf International Marine.
Wärtsilä, a global marine industry solutions and services provider based in Finland, has been awarded another contract to supply a complete liquefied natural gas (LNG) package, including the propulsion, auxiliaries and controls, for a new offshore support vessel (OSV) designed by STX Marine, Inc. The ship has been ordered by Harvey Gulf International Marine as a part of the company’s ‘Going Green’ initiative. The vessel will operate in the Gulf of Mexico’s offshore oilfields.
This latest order is the fifth that Wärtsilä has received from Harvey Gulf for gas fuelled propulsion solutions. In October 2011, Wärtsilä technology was selected for two new Harvey Gulf OSVs, making them the first ever U.S. flagged platform supply vessels (PSVs) to be powered by LNG. The order to supply gas propulsion packages for a further two Harvey Gulf ships was received shortly thereafter. The contract with Wärtsilä for this fifth vessel was signed in November 2012.
Harvey Gulf’s ‘Going Green’ initiative, which includes switching to LNG propulsion, is aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the company’s vessels and operations. ‘These PSVs will be the cleanest burning vessels operating in the Gulf of Mexico,” says Chad Verret, Senior Vice President, Harvey Gulf International Marine. “Many permits for the eastern Gulf of Mexico already demand that operators use the best available capture technology with regard to particulates. In my opinion, the best available particulate matter capture technology is not to have any to start with, and that’s what burning LNG gives you,” he says.
“Wärtsilä is committed to reducing the carbon footprint from shipping through state-of-the-art propulsion solutions, and by developing integrated systems that enable ships to use LNG as fuel,” says Magnus Miemois, Vice President Solutions, Wärtsilä Ship Power. “By reducing fuel consumption through greater efficiencies, and by enabling true flexibility in fuel choice, we can significantly reduce emissions while also lowering operating costs.”
Wärtsilä will supply the steerable thrusters, an Integrated Automation System, the Power Management System, a complete Low Loss Concept for the electrical distribution and drive architecture. All five of the vessels will be powered by 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel generating sets capable of running on either LNG or conventional liquid fuels. The switch between fuels can be made seamlessly without loss of either power or speed. Wärtsilä will also supply the LNGPac, LNG bunkering, storage and supply system.
In gas mode, emissions of nitrogen oxide are reduced by some 85 percent compared to diesel operation, sulphur oxide emissions are completely eliminated since gas contains no sulphur, and CO2 emissions are also reduced. Furthermore, the production of particulates is virtually zero since natural gas has no residuals.
Wärtsilä was a pioneer in introducing dual-fuel engine technology and during recent years has launched a series of natural gas engines.
(This article compiled using information from a Wärtsilä Corporation press release)
