LNG fuel for Norwegian cruise ferries

According to Rolls-Royce, the gas-only fuelled engines will reduce NOx emissions by about 90% while SOx and particulate emissions will be negligible. The company says that emissions from its Bergen gas engines are already within the limits of IMO Tier III environmental legislation, due to come into force in 2016.

Each of the vessels will be of 4,000dwt, and 170m length oa. They will have 309 cabins, and room for 1,500 passengers and 600 cars. Rolls-Royce will deliver the propulsion systems during 2012, and the ferries will begin regular service between the west coast of Norway and Denmark in the summer of 2013.

Rolls-Royce general sales manager – merchant & navy engines, Odd Magne Horgen, said: “These vessels will be the first international LNG-fuelled passenger vessels in operation and we are very pleased to be a part of this ground breaking project. Rolls-Royce technology will drastically reduce emissions delivering significant efficiency gains to the customer.”

Chief executive of Fjord Line Ingvald Fardal, said: “Fjord Line has a clear environmental strategy and choosing single fuel gas engines makes us pioneers in the cruise ferry industry. We will have the first and the largest cruise ferry ever to run on LNG as the sole fuel type. Rolls-Royce is the leading manufacturer of these well proven gas engines and we are very pleased to have their technology onboard.”