Industry’s First In-Hull Dual Fuel Engine Conversion
To convert its vessel Coral Anthelia to dual fuel operation, Anthony Veder worked with Caterpillar dealer Bolier to complete the industry’s first in-hull retrofit—saving considerable time and money in the process.
Retrofit of the marine diesel engine to dual fuel operation was carried out in the hull of the ship without altering the vessel’s structure, limiting any onboard operations or requiring the ship to dock. Anthony Veder and a team of Dutch partners, including Bolier, worked together to accomplish this industry-first feat which took less than five weeks.
Anthony Veder wanted to install a dual fuel engine at the time of the ship’s construction, but the technology was not quite ready. When it did become available, the company conducted an R&D project to compare in-hull and outside-the-hull retrofits, with the in-hull process emerging as the clear winner, as it saved considerable time and money.
Today, the Coral Anthelia’s M 46 DF engine can run on LNG, marine diesel oil and heavy fuel oil—reaching industry-leading efficiency in gas mode. Using LNG eliminates the emission of sulfur and particulate matter and reduces emissions of NOx and CO2 by 90% and 20%, respectively.
“LNG as a cargo creates a natural boil-off gas,” says Frans Juhrend, customer support project engineer at Bolier. “Anthony Veder wanted to find a solution to consume this gas and not release it into the environment. They decided to adapt the engine in order to consume the boil-off gas—hence the conversion to run on gas as fuel.”
“Docking a vessel is costly, so not requiring the Coral Anthelia to go into dry dock was a significant cost saving,” Juhrend says. “The feedback from the customer has been very positive both on the conversion and on the new technology.”