Wärtsilä' Inert Gas Solution for LNG Carriers

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea has contracted Wärtsilä to supply combined inert gas generators and gas combustion units for 17 new LNG Carrier vessels under construction at the company's yards. The vessels are being built for leading operators in Singapore, Greece, South Korea, Cyprus and Canada. These significant contracts with Wärtsilä were signed in June and September.

These will be the first ever units delivered by Wärtsilä that combine inert gas generators (IGG) and gas combustion units (GCU) with high capacity. The systems have a maximum volume of up to 3800 kg/h, which is sufficient for the industry's largest LNG carriers. The concept of combining the two systems was developed by Wärtsilä in close cooperation with DSME. The system uses an existing Wärtsilä Moss inert gas generator to burn the boil-off gas, thereby eliminating the need for a conventional gas combustion unit. This results in considerable capital expenditure savings. At the same time, by using the boil-off gas as fuel for creating inert gas, the combined system also provides notable operating cost savings.

The combined IGG-GCU system has a minimal environmental footprint. This is achieved through the replacement of a separate onboard system, and by using the boil-off gas for inert gas generation, which together minimise the extra use of marine diesel oil (MDO) fuel.

"Wärtsilä has a vast depth of experience in supplying advanced gas solutions for marine and offshore applications. These contracts demonstrate our leading position in this field. We appreciate the excellent cooperation with DSME in enabling the development of this combined IGG-GCU system," says Juha Kytölä, Vice President, Environmental Solutions, Wärtsilä.

"We are pleased to be working on this project with Wärtsilä, a company that we know well and respect. We have every confidence in their ability to provide an efficient, reliable, and safe solution for these vessels," says NS Kim, Junior Director, DSME.

Wärtsilä has earlier supplied smaller versions of the combined IGG-GCU system since its introduction in 2013. These new Wärtsilä contracts are scheduled to be delivered to the yard commencing in the third quarter of 2016.