LNG as fuel for ships

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Liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) as a fuel for propelling ships is traded as a way of lower-emission shipping. Due to regulations on environmental protection in shipping, corresponding drives are becoming increasingly popular.

In the Baltic and North Sea as well as the American coastal waters, the exhaust gas regulations (see Emission Control Area ) require sulfur-free fuels or scrubbers for exhaust gas cleaning.

LNG tankers with LNG propulsion

In 2019 there were 224 LNG tankers with LNG propulsion in the maritime sector , and a further 89 have been ordered.

Steam-powered LNG tanker

LNG tankers for the transport of liquefied natural gas (LNG) use the cargo as fuel, as a small part of the cargo is constantly evaporating (boil off). Initially, the LNG ship was boiler burned and the steam thus generated operating on the steam turbine to the propeller of the ship. The first LNG tankers were built in 1959 as a conversion such as B. the Methane Pioneer .

Construction of an LNG tanker with motor drive

Motorized LNG tanker

So-called dual-fuel diesel engines can be operated either with gas or with heavy oil . Since the efficiency of these engines, at 45 to 50%, is significantly better than the efficiency of the steam systems, new LNG tankers are predominantly equipped with engine drives. Some of these ships were also equipped with complex reliquefaction systems. LNG tankers are only allowed to call at LNG terminals approved for this purpose in certain ports. LNG is a very clean fuel and causes lower emissions than the other marine fuels heavy oil and diesel oil.

Other types of ships with LNG propulsion

When setting up particularly sensitive marine areas, so-called SECA (or ECA) zones, very strict environmental requirements were laid down for the ships sailing in them. The emission of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide must not exceed specified limit values, which will become even stricter in the future. This was the main reason to consider LNG as a fuel in these trades. However, there are currently no generally binding international regulations and approvals for the use and storage of LNG in normal ships, which is why these ships can only call at ports with special permits.

In 2019 there were a total of 321 seagoing vessels in cargo traffic with LNG propulsion, and an order had been placed for a further 510. These are the following types of ship: 224 LNG tankers (+ 313 in order), 12  LPG tankers (+20), 44 other tankers (+84), 22 offshore ships (+26), 8  container ships (+33 ), 8 bulkers (+ 23) and 2  car transporters (+ 10).

Situation in Norway

The supplier industry has been facing the challenges for some time now and suitable marine engines are available for propulsion and also for generating electricity for the on-board network or are in the introductory phase. Norway is a pioneer in the construction and operation of ships with LNG propulsion, around forty ferries and utilities are successfully operated with LNG. There are now corresponding regulations and the necessary infrastructure for refueling such ships.

The Becker Marine LNG power barge in Hamburg supplies AidaSol with electricity

Situation in Germany

Conversion of Ostfriesland to LNG propulsion in Bremerhaven
The Ostfriesland of AG Ems, the first LNG ship under the German flag, docked in Borkum on June 17, 2015 as part of the guest trip

In Germany there is currently no infrastructure for supplying ships with LNG. Until 2019, this was only possible with tank trucks.

There are plans to build LNG storage facilities and ship refueling facilities in Bremen , Bremerhaven , Brunsbüttel , Hamburg and Rostock . The Theodor Buschmann shipyard in Hamburg developed an LNG bunker barge ("TB-X") that can navigate the ships to be supplied by water. The technology for handling the LNG (tanks, pumps, pressure and heat regulation) comes from the Hamburg company Marine Service .

In autumn 2019, the Nauticor company refueled a ship with LNG propulsion from another ship in a German port for the first time.

From 2015, LNG will also be used to propel ships in Germany. From mid-June 2015 as a conversion for the Borkum ferry Ostfriesland in Bremen and Bremerhaven, as a new building for the LNG hybrid barge in the port of Hamburg to supply cruise ships and as a new building for the bathing ship Helgoland , which has been operating between Cuxhaven and Helgoland since December 2015 . Two Dutch ships of the type LNG Greenstream Tanker and the Argonon are already underway on the Rhine, and since 2013 they have also been refueled with LNG by trucks in the port of Mannheim .

2017 was the first container ship , the 1,000-TEU feeder ship Wes Amalie of Harener Wessels shipping company with the financial support of the Federal Ministry of Transport and digital infrastructure to LNG propulsion converted.

Political environment

Air pollution from seagoing ships burning heavy oil is an object of EU policy and international bodies:

See also

Web links

literature

  • Hans-Jürgen Reuß: Gas as an alternative fuel and the best possible use of primary energy . In: Hansa , issue 12/2011, pp. 28–30, Schiffahrts-Verlag Hansa, Hamburg 2011, ISSN  0017-7504
  • Hanns-Stefan Grosch: LNG bearer of hope . In: Deutsche Seeschifffahrt , issue 4/2013, pp. 54–57, Verband Deutscher Reeder eV, Hamburg 2013
  • Sverre Gutschmidt: LNG on the way to a new age in shipping . In: Hansa , Heft 8/2013, pp. 62-64, Schiffahrts-Verlag Hansa, Hamburg 2013, ISSN  0017-7504
  • Michael vom Baur: LNG - a new fuel in the ports of the Baltic Sea . In: Hansa , Heft 8/2013, pp. 66–69, Schiffahrts-Verlag Hansa, Hamburg 2013, ISSN  0017-7504
  • Georg Ehrmann, Jan Schubert: "Potential of LNG as a fuel for shipping" , energy | water practice, number 9, September 2014, pages 16–19
  • Hermann Garrelmann: LNG with a future - 2,000 ships by 2020 . In: Hansa , issue 3/2017, pp. 54/55
  • LNG Report 2019/2020 - Water Rail Road . Schiff & Hafen , supplement to issue 12/2019, DVV Media Group, Hamburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-87154-647-1

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ LNG - new energy for ships and trucks? In: LNG Report 2019/2020 - Water Rail Road . Schiff & Hafen , supplement to issue 12/2019, pp. 50–53
  2. ↑ Michael Meyer: LNG order book is growing . In: Daily port report , September 4, 2013, p. 13.
  3. ↑ Karl-Heinz Hochhaus: Alternative Fuels in Shipping . In: https://hochhaus-schiffsbetrieb.jimdo.com/alternative-kraftstoffe-in-der-seeschifffahrt/
  4. ↑ Thirst for liquefied natural gas . In: Hansa , issue 12/2019, pp. 14/15
  5. ↑ Georg Ehrmann, Jan Schubert: Potentials of LNG as a fuel for shipping. (PDF) In: energy | water practice. German Gas and Water Association, September 2014, accessed on October 26, 2014 .
  6. ↑ BMWI monthly report 05/2019
  7. ↑ Michael Meyer: Good response to LNG bunker barge . In: Hansa , issue 12/2014, p. 50/51.
  8. ↑ Logistik-Today from October 11, 2019
  9. ↑ First LNG bunkering carried out in Germany in the port of Mannheim. Bonapart, November 15, 2013, accessed October 26, 2014 .
  10. ↑ "Wes Amelie" first fueled with LNG . In: Schiff & Hafen , issue 10/2017, p. 31