Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Propulsion Systems News

Molten Salt Reactors: Maritime’s Nuclear Option

Multipurpose: an illustration of Ulstein International’s nuclear-powered Thor showing its ship-to-ship resupply boom and passenger transfer, and below a close-up of a replenishment operation. Image courtesy Ulstein International

A race is being run by nuclear scientists and ship designers. The prize? “Decarbonization’s” holy grail — believed to be a “small” thorium-fueled, molten-salt rector’s unlimited power to propel sea trade. At the same time, a recently revived discussion among leading marine-nuclear thinkers revolves now around how to put an ultra-modern…

Battery-Electric Surge: ESS Scales Up in Maritime

Battery friendly: the DC set-up aboard an ESS-equipped VARD vessel. Image courtesy Vard

Ask the right government department in any G7 state and you’ll find funding to put battery power for your vessel. Beyond funds, new battery makers and system integrators are ironing out safety issues, and a growing number of giga-sized cell factories offer hope that costs will fall for marine energy storage, as ESS choice grows.

Green Marine: Electrification is the Power behind ‘Future-Proofing’

Image courtesy GE Marine Solutions.

There's an “electrification of the seas” happening for navies around the world.Whether it's to achieve greater military capabilities, operational economics and efficiencies or to be better stewards of the environment.There's a trend moving from direct mechanical drives towards more flexible electrical propulsion systems.

Tech Files: Offshore Power Products

Danish offshore vessel firm Maersk Supply Service and its compatriot offshore wind developer Ørsted, are testing an innovative charging buoy that can bring green electricity to offshore wind farm service vessels and potentially to a wide range of maritime vessels. Photo courtesy: Maersk Supply Service and Ørsted

Insights on innovative power products upgrades that could be used to keep offshore operations moving along effectively, efficiently.Maersk Supply Service/Orsted power buoysDanish offshore vessel firm Maersk Supply Service and its compatriot offshore wind developer Ørsted, are testing an innovative charging buoy that can…

Tech File: Hybrid-Electric Propulsion for Crew-less Vessels

Image: XOCEAN/Torqueedo

The move to autonomy on the world's waterways is undeniable, with the direction clear, the pace hazy. What is clear is the need for reliable, fuel efficient propulsion, and last month Torqueedo announced a deal to provide hybrid-electric propulsion systems to power XOCEAN’s XO-450 USV, a custom-designed composite wave-piercing…

Technology: Greenhouse Gas Emission Capture and Storage to the Fore

Hydrate crusts formed within ocean floor sediments ensure the encapsulation and safe and effective containment of captured CO2. Image: MDC

Greenhouse gas emissions capture and storage may be a more practical alternative to emissions reduction for meeting the IMO’s 2050 CO2 target. Tom Mulligan reports.Shipping emits close to 1 billion tons of CO2 each year and the shipping industry needs carbon-free solutions to achieve the IMO’s 2050 target of a 50 percent reduction, compared to the 2008 level, in these massive emissions.

Offshore Wind: a Freshening Breeze?

AdobeStock_CREDIT Yauhen Suslo

July brought news about offshore wind. There was something for everyone: optimism, disappointment, and construction, too.Finally, starting with Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, a joint venture with Danish wind developer Orsted is underway. True, this is a small project – just two wind turbines to be installed 27 miles east of Virginia Beach.

WASP Sets Sail on its 3-Year Voyage

The WASP (Wind Assisted Ship Propulsion) project, funded by the Interreg North Sea Europe program, part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to the tune of €3.4 million has been officially approved and launched.The project brings together universities, wind-assist technology providers with ship owners to research…

OGCI Invests in Wind Power for Ships

OGCI Climate Investments has led an EUR 8 million investment round in Norsepower, along with current investors, to accelerate Norsepower’s growth on global markets.The investment enables Norsepower to scale up production at its manufacturing facilities as part of a next phase of commercialization triggered by demand for its renewable wind energy propulsion systems…

BV Joins the Int'l Windship Association

Photo: Bureau Veritas

The decarbonization drive is gearing up to be the defining issue faced by the shipping sector in the coming decades and the industry is searching for low carbon and zero emissions technologies that will deliver on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) initial strategy of reducing emissions by at least 50% by 2050.

Spanish Port Hosts First LNG Operations

The port of Ferrol hosted its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering operation recently which saw two ferries filled with LNG by Repsol in the port’s Mugardos terminal.Recently built by Turkish shipyard Tersan, the Samnøy and Huftarøy ferries received 178 cubic metres of fuel from five tanks in total. The Samnøy received about 110 cubic metres of fuel…

ICS Hopes for Zero CO2 Fuels

International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) believes that the 2020 global sulphur cap will be the regulatory game changer of the decade with profound implications for the economics of shipping.However, there are even more profound changes to come. "We are rapidly moving into a multi-fuel future to be followed we hope, in the 2030s…

Great Ships 2018: BP's British Partner

Photos: BP Shipping

BP Shipping took delivery of British Partner, the first of a half dozen new 173,400 cu. m. capacity liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers to be delivered through 2018 and 2019 from the DSME shipyard in South Korea. BP Shipping, which launched a fleet rejuvenation program in 2016 that includes 32 new vessels for delivery over a three-year period…

SEA\LNG Voices Support for MEPC 73 Outcomes

SEA\LNG, the multi-sector industry coalition aiming to accelerate the widespread adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel, strongly supports the decision of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) to reaffirm the January 1, 2020 implementation date of the 0.50% sulphur fuel limit.SEA\LNG said…

Sembcorp Marine Bags Offshore Wind and Ferry Projects

Sembcorp Marine is breaking new ground in renewable  energy engineering solutions with two separate projects worth over S$200 million (USD 145 mln).The Group has inked an agreement with Ørsted Wind Power subsidiary Optimus Wind Limited for engineering, procurement, construction, hook-up and commissioning works on two topsides…

IKM Subsea Secures PTTEP Drilling Contract

Photo: IKM Subsea

IKM Subsea Singapore signed a contract with PTTEPI for their appraisal campaign offshore in Myanmar. IKM Subsea will be providing a Merlin WR200 electrical propulsion system together with a BOP intervention tool and an IKM Technology designed and built diamond wire cutter for this project onboard the rig. This marks as…

PBES, Høglund Marine Join Forces

PBES and Høglund Marine Automation today announced a partnership agreement to industrial quality energy storage for hybrid and fully electric commercial marine vessels. The partnership agreement underscores the on-going green shift that is now occurring in the commercial marine industry. Leading marine controls and automation company Høglund sees the future.

ACEL Selects Corvus Energy Orca ESS

Photo: Corvus

ACEL AS of Norway has ordered an Orca Energy, Energy Storage System (ESS) from Corvus Energy to begin integration testing for uses across multiple maritime applications. Orca Energy is part of the next generation Orca ESS product line from Corvus which is specifically designed for maritime use. The ACEL Group consists of…

McGurran Leads LOC Group's Hull and Machinery Services

London Offshore Consultants (LOC), a leading global marine and engineering consultancy for the shipping and offshore energy industry, has appointed Mark McGurran as the Group Director for Hull and Machinery Services. “It is with great pleasure that I am able to advise that as from September 2016, Mark McGurran has accepted the role and will continue to be based in Singapore.

Wärtsilä in Coalition to Promote LNG as a Marine Fuel

Wärtsilä and other leading marine industry players have formed a coalition, known as SEA/LNG, to accelerate the widespread adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel. The coalition aims to help break down the barriers hindering the global development of LNG in marine applications, thereby improving the environmental performance of the shipping industry.