02MAY2019 - NEWS - Engine Builders enhance their dual fuel designs to reduce costs and improve efficiency

The cost barrier to using gas as a marine fuel has been cut dramatically as a consequence of enginebuilders enhancing their dual-fuel designs

In the past three years, the range of vessels using dual-fuel engines has grown from relatively small coastal vessels to deepsea giants, as capex has fallen and bunker infrastructure grown. Sovcomflot’s Aframax tanker Gagarin Prospect, delivered in July last year, is a good example. Measuring 250 m in length and 44 m in beam and weighing in at nearly 65,000 gt, it is the first tanker of its size to use a dual-fuel engine; five more tankers of a similar size will be launched this year, each with X-DF engines from WinGD.

WinGD closed out the first quarter of 2019 with 32 new orders for X-DF engines. Vice president sales Rolf Stiefel confirms that the list includes chemical and crude oil tankers as well as asphalt carriers and container feeders. The company’s dual-fuel book now runs to 200 (including those already delivered), which Mr Stiefel attributes to the growing infrastructure supporting LNG as a fuel.

One of the biggest gas-fuelled ship orders in recent years is a case in point. CMA CGM’s nine 22,000-TEU vessels to be delivered in 2020 and 2021 will each be powered by the biggest dual-fuel marine two-stroke engine ever built – WinGD’s 12-cylinder, 920-mm bore X92DF, delivering 63,840 kW at 80 rpm. The engines include several design features that reduce size, weight, complexity and maintenance demands.

These engines will be the first to incorporate a new engine control system, MK-E cylinder lube pumps, as well as being the first of their size to deploy an integrated gas pressure regulation system. All the design features offer significant benefits in terms of reduced footprint, complexity and maintenance.

The new Mk-E cylinder lubrication pumps inject precise amounts of oil onto the cylinder liners at tightly controlled intervals to lubricate the main pistons and cylinders. The design offers improved priming, both internally and with a button-operated venting valve. It also has 45% fewer parts than its predecessor, making it quicker to assemble and install on the engine. As a result, the pump’s weight is reduced by 40% and production costs fall by around 35%. The design has also allowed WinGD to improve the configuration of the outlets, simplifying installation and service on the engine.

Published by Editor - www.Livebunkers.com at 02-May-2019 04:50:55 [UTC] , contact editor at editor@livebunkers.com