New FGSS supplier for LNG bunker vessel
The 7,990 dwt Marine Vicky is due to enter service in December 2019. The launch of the vessel comes amid increasing interest in dual-fuel engines for smaller vessels, as availability of LNG fuel increases around the world.
The 102.8-metre long and 19.0-metre broad vessel will be powered by two Yanmar 6EY26DF dual fuel engines, and also features the first installation of a low-pressure fuel gas supply system provided by Japanese supplier Sanoyas Shipbuilding Corporation.
The decision to diversify into the supply of LNG FGSS represents a change in strategic focus for the Japanese engineering group, which has recently decided to exit the shipbuilding sphere and refocus on engineering solutions. The group has gained extensive experience of gaseous fuels developing LPG solutions.
The low-pressure FGSS consists of a deck-mounted double shell 55cbm vacuum-insulated LNG storage tank, a vaporiser, and a buffer tank. The FGSS system uses a pressure control valve to supply the fuel gas to the vaporiser from the storage tank, using pressure differentials between the tank and a pressuriser unit, eliminating the need for supply pumps.
Sanoyas expects the system to achieve a boil-off rate of 0.114%/day of the LNG storage tank capacity. It is planning to develop a scaled-up version of the FGSS for larger LNG-fuelled vessels.
