Turbine-powered container ship design project

The vessel concept will employ GE’s combined gas turbine, electric and steam (COGES) propulsion and power technology. Driven by electric motors, the pure gas or dual-fuel package will enhance HHI’s standard size of container ship design with dramatically reduced emissions and energy requirements.

The joint development project was signed on 15 March in Seoul and is the latest step in the development of gas turbine powered ship designs suitable for deep sea, commercial applications.

GE noted that turbines – at 80% lighter and 30% smaller than similar two-stroke diesel solutions – can be located anywhere on the vessel, increasing flexibility and potentially adding cargo space.

The turbines can be equipped with a GE Dry Low Emissions (DLE) or single annular combustion system, both capable of meeting Tier III IMO/Tier IV United States Environmental Protection Agency requirements with no exhaust treatment and no methane slip.

Lloyd’s Register and GE have worked together on several joint development projects related to gas turbines, notably on a design for a gas turbine powered LNG carrier introduced to the market in 2013. The project will also continue Lloyd’s Register and HHI’s partnership on the safe maximising of container ship loading.