Wärtsilä and Shell Oil Company want to promote and accelerate the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel. To do so, they signed a joint co-operation agreement last August that will run for several years.
Gas fuelled marine engines are seen as being a logical means for ship owners and operators to comply with increasingly stringent environmental legislation. The agreement aims to increase and ease the availability of natural gas for marine engine use, as well as to develop the supply chain and infrastructure to facilitate the bunkering of LNG fuel. The two companies will jointly move these developments to marine markets in order to enhance its rapid introduction and use.
Duel-Fuel Technology
Dual-fuel engine technology allows an engine to be operated on both gas and diesel fuel. This capability means that when running in gas mode, the environmental impact is minimized since nitrogen oxides (NOx) are reduced by some 85 percent compared to diesel operation. Sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions are completely eliminated as gas contains no sulphur, and emissions of CO2 are also lowered. Natural gas has no residuals, and thus the production of particulates is practically non-existent.
Reducing Operating Costs
In addition to the environmental benefits that LNG fuel offers, the shipping industry is increasingly looking to gas as a means of reducing operating costs. With fossil fuel prices, and especially the cost of low carbon marine fuel, likely to continue to escalate, gas is an obvious economic alternative.
Accelarating Demand
In promoting gas propulsion, the two companies aim at reducing client risk, thereby accelerating market demand.
