A new shuttle tanker concept developed by Teekay, a provider of shuttle tanker services, in close cooperation with Wärtsilä is to offer a new level of ecological and economic solutions through the use of smart technology.
The concept has been endorsed with orders for four of these "next generation" vessels for Teekay. The ships will be built at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) yard in South Korea and will feature a very broad assortment of Wärtsilä’s latest technology innovations, all of which are central to the concept’s overall performance gains. The orders with Wärtsilä represent a value of over 110 million euros.
LNG and VOC
The concept offers a new level of economic and ecological performance, and is expected to reduce annual emissions of CO2 equivalents by more than 40 per cent, compared to conventional shuttle tankers. In addition to operating on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as the primary fuel, the dual-fuel engines will also be able to run on a mixture of LNG and recovered Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) – the gas evaporating from the oil cargo tanks during loading.
By utilising the recovered VOC as fuel rather than venting it to the atmosphere, the harmful emissions will be eliminated and the ships’ bunker needs will be significantly reduced. The concept also means that Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions from the engines’ exhaust will be reduced by more than 80 per cent, Sulphur Oxide (SOx) emissions will be almost entirely eliminated, while particulate emissions will be reduced by more than 95 per cent. These environmental benefits are matched by equally important economic advantages, with a significant reduction in fuel consumption compared to conventional solutions.
Low Loss Hybrid (LLH) System and Batteries
Among the innovative features is the Wärtsilä Hybrid system, on which the power distribution will be based. The Hybrid system uses batteries for fuel savings, peak load shaving, and added overall system redundancy. This directly impacts the main machinery, resulting in fewer running hours with correspondingly lower maintenance time and costs.
Wärtsilä’s will also supply the full electric and automation system, which includes the company's Low Loss Hybrid (LLH) system and batteries, LNGPac fuel storage and supply system, VOC system for recovering and liquefying the VOC with a storage and supply system, Wärtsilä 34DF dual fuel gas engines, the fuel mixing system with liquid VOC and LNG as the main fuel for the engine, gas turbines to handle the surplus gas, cargo and ballast pumps and an inert gas generator.
Eniram Performance Management System
Eniram, a Wärtsilä company, will provide its Vessel Performance Management System, a data collection platform having the capabilities to optimise the vessel’s operations, while also providing the owners with analytics and reporting. The Performance Management system ensures that the full potential of the vessel as well as the fleet, will be utilised.
Shuttle Tankers
Shuttle tankers are used for transporting oil from offshore fields to land-based terminals. Their various operational modes present significant challenges in maintaining efficiencies. The new concept has been conceived to overcome such challenges.
Picture: The new shuttle tanker concept creates both economic and environmental benefits.
