Another breakthrough innovation in short-sea LNG shipping by Anthony Veder
Anthony Veder’s 6,500cbm LPG/LEG/LNG carrier Coral Anthelia has been retrofitted with a dual-fuel (DF) engine that enables it to run on boil-off gas when transporting LNG. Having successfully completed its sea trials, the vessel operates in the North Sea and Baltic Sea and regularly loads LNG at the Rotterdam Gate Terminal.
“This great result was achieved by committed partners working effectively together in a trusting and safe way. Not only was this project completed ahead of time and within budget, it was also executed without any safety incidents. This breakthrough innovation in the use of LNG for short sea shipping shows that retrofitting a tanker to run on LNG is both technically and financially viable”, says Anthony Veder CEO Jan Valkier.
A challenging and rewarding project
The vessel was delivered to Anthony Veder in 2013 with a conventional six-cylinder MaK M43C diesel engine. With the vessel’s design already optimised for ethylene trading, a new target was set: consumption of the boil-off gas as fuel when carrying LNG and without completely replacing the one-and-a-half year old engine. The solution was found by retrofitting the engine to make it a MaK M46 dual-fuel engine. This was achieved making use of a dedicated package that recently has become available.
It turned out to be a challenging project, requiring highly specialised work. The overall planning and operation was performed by Anthony Veder in close cooperation with partners from Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam (Van Brink shipyard), Bolier (MaK dealer), Croon Elektrotechniek (electrical contractor), Leemberg (piping contractor) and Eekels (ship automation contractor). Despite the complexity, the team managed to execute the works in less than five weeks.