POWER GENERATION – LNG AT SEA
tWraavteelrb ygas
The Volkswagen Group has deployed a car freighter powered by lique ed
natural gas, with a second due to enter service later this year.
The move marks a new direction for heavy shipping
B y 2025, Volkswagen (VW)
Group aims to reduce its total
net CO2 emissions by 30%; 25
years beyond then, it aims to
be CO2-neutral. As part of that,
all transport operations conducted by the
company, whether by water, road or rail,
must be climate-friendly. In a bid to achieve
this goal, VW Group Logistics has taken
delivery of two car freighters powered
by lique ed natural gas (LNG), which is
cleaner-burning than bunker fuel.
The two charter ships of Siem Car
Carriers were commissioned in 2015, with
construction beginning in 2018. The rst –
Siem Confucius – was launched in Xiamen,
China, in November last year and made its
maiden voyage, transporting more than
4,800 vehicles, from Emden, Germany,
to Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico in June
2020. The second transporter – Siem
Aristotle – plans to enter service this year.
Thomas Zernechel, VW head of group
logistics, explains: “We are entering a new
eld here to reduce emissions. Both ships
are the rst overseas car freighters in the
world to be LNG-powered. In addition
to the increasing use of LNG trucks,
conversion of our many rail transports to
green electricity and the use of biofuel in
the short sea segment, the two new LNG
ships represent an important building
block for our strategic goal of climateneutral
logistics.”
POWER
Like her sister ship, the Siem Confucius
is 200m long and 38m wide. It has 13 car
decks and a capacity of 7,500 CEU (car
equivalent units), which corresponds to
around 4,800 vehicles in the Volkswagen
Group model mix, from passenger cars to
light commercial vehicles.
Each vessel features individual MAN
Energy Solutions’ B&W S60ME-GI (gas
injection) dual-fuel, two-stroke engines
that deliver 12,600 kW with direct
injection and exhaust-gas treatment to
reduce emissions. Each main engine is
also accompanied by one 7L28/32DF and
two 9L28/32DF dual-fuel auxiliary engines
(www.is.gd/epubid).
Siem Confucius carries nearly 5,000 cars
MAN reports that these are the
rst 28/32DF engines to be built in a
seven-cylinder variant. All gensets are
turbocharged by individual MAN TCR 16
and TCR 18 turbochargers, with the entire
set-up overseen by MAN’s proprietary
SaCoS engine-control system
(www.is.gd/abanaz). Each vessel is also
driven by a four-bladed MAN Alpha xed
pitch propeller. The propellers have a
diameter of 6.95m and were produced by
MAN’s propeller licensee, Dalian Marine
Propeller, in China. In eco-speed mode,
the ships are capable of running at 16.5
knots (30.6 km/h).
In addition to the cryogenic gas, the
vessels can also be operated with syngas
or biogas. Both ships are equipped with
two 1,800 m³ LNG tanks installed below
deck to fuel the B&W ME-GI main drivers.
Bjarne Foldager, senior vice-president
and head of two-stroke business at
MAN Energy Solutions, says: “Our dualfuel
portfolio can rightly be considered
as mature technology with references
now in every major marine segment.
Furthermore, the ME-GI’s use of the diesel
combustion principle ensures that it can
easily adapt to run on whatever fuels the
industry may prefer in the future.
A spokesperson for Volkswagen
Group Logistics adds: “The engine
employs the diesel combustion
By Adam O ord
The main engine delivers 12,600kW
70 www.operationsengineer.org.uk Autumn 2020
/epubid)
/abanaz)
/www.operationsengineer.org.uk