The BW Gemini is the world’s first very large gas carrier (VLGC) to be fuelled by LPG and has concluded its sea trials. The use of LPG as fuel reduces emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx) by some 97 per cent.

The BW Gemini is owned and operated by BW LPG and was built in 2015. It was retrofitted this year with Wärtsilä’s LPG Fuel Supply technology. This company was also designated as the system integrator for the conversion project. This is the first of 12 BW LPG ships to be retrofitted for operating on LPG fuel with this system.

The Wärtsilä scope included the system engineering, the ship design for the conversion project, two 930-m3 fuel tanks with the pumps and fuel system, the pump skids, and the cargo handling system. The LPG Fuel Supply System is available as a stand-alone solution, or as an integrated element within the LPG cargo handling system.

‘LPG is powering this vessel while protecting the environment, and we look forward to demonstrating its benefits to the industry as shipping prepares for a future with zero-carbon propulsion,’ says Pontus Berg, Executive Vice President, Technical and Operation.

Picture by BWLPG.