Maran Dry Management in bulker JDP with RINA and SDARI

The project proposes to apply gas reformation technology to the ship’s fuel (LNG) to produce hydrogen and CO2 before combustion, with the potential for the vessel to meet IMO 2050 criteria. The project will be the first application of the technology for a bulk carrier. It was previously launched in an LNG/hydrogen-fuelled MR tanker design earlier in 2022, as reported by The Motorship.

The design is based on a pre-combustion carbon capture principle: the CO2 is captured from splitting the LNG molecules before the combustion in the engine takes place, rather than from exhaust gas emissions. This involves lower mass flows, which reduces the space required, and scalable installation to progressively keep up with the pace of the emissions reduction requirements up to 2050. The vessel can be built as an ordinary dual fuel ship, and the extra equipment installed once regulations incentivise the investment.

The solution addresses existing LNG bunkering facilities and requires no onshore hydrogen infrastructure and no need for supply and storage of hydrogen on board. It will also aim to reduce the resistance of the ship to increase overall operational efficiency.

As the Class Society, RINA will review calculation and design drawings submitted by SDARI to ensure they meet the latest statutory and RINA Classification Rules and Regulations, using the experience already gained on this innovative fuel solution.

“Maran Dry Management is committed to embracing the energy transition and working towards net zero shipping solutions”, comments Captain Babis Kouvakas, Managing Director at Maran Dry Management (MDM) Inc. “Working with RINA and SDARI, this JDP agreement will give us a highly competitive bulk carrier design that will exceed IMO’s current 2050 targets and ultimately get to near-zero emissions. The project demonstrates our strong commitment and active role in the decarbonisation goals set by IMO, providing a pioneering concept, unique to the bulk carriers segment (newcastlemax) and the shipping industry as a whole, setting a leading example to exceed the current and projected emissions reduction targets, while demonstrating an innovative sustainable path for the future of shipping. The design will allow us to run the vessel on increasing percentages of hydrogen, lowering emissions over time, to meet the increasingly stringent rating thresholds towards 2050.”

Paolo Moretti, CEO at RINA Services, says, “The concept was conceived to be used on a wide range of vessel sizes. We have already approved its feasibility on a MR tanker, this joint development project will show how a Newcastlemax bulk carrier design can benefit from the LNG and hydrogen solution. We are privileged and very happy to be working with Maran Dry Management and SDARI, supporting their pioneering point of view on decarbonisation.”

Mr.Wang GangYi, Chief Engineer at SDARI, adds, “This is an exciting design that enables shipowners to work towards IMO 2050 with confidence, as it does not rely on the availability of new fuels or additional technological developments to maintain the ship’s A rating going forward. We too are delighted to be working with a company such as Maran Dry Management and RINA and hope this will be the start of a long and mutually beneficial relationship.”