The new shuttle tanker concept was designed by Teekay, in close co-operation with Wärtsilä.
Each ships will feature a suite of Wärtsilä’s latest technology innovations, all of which are claimed to be central to the concept’s overall performance gains. The Wärtsilä order, valued at over €110 mill in total, were booked in December, 2017 and January, 2018.
The design is expected to reduce annual emissions of CO2 equivalents by more than 40%, compared to conventional shuttle tankers. In addition to operating on LNG as the primary fuel, the dual-fuel engines will also be able to run on a mixture of LNG and recovered Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) – the gas evaporating from the oil cargo tanks during loading.
By using the recovered VOC as fuel rather than venting it to the atmosphere, the harmful emissions will be eliminated and the ships’ bunker needs will be significantly reduced. The concept also means that NOx emissions from the engines’ exhaust will be reduced by more than 80%, SOx emissions will be almost entirely eliminated, while particulate emissions will be reduced by more than 95%.
“Together with Teekay, we have developed a concept that takes the shuttle tanker sector into a new era, and which is further evidence of Wärtsilä’s ability to transform shipping by developing and utilising the very latest technologies. These ships will have tremendous operational flexibility with unmatched manoeuvring capability, and will achieve what all operators are striving for today, namely optimal economic and environmental performance,” said Roger Holm, President, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.
“This new shuttle tanker design will set new standards for both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions,” added Terje Rusdal, Project Manager at Teekay.
A fuller description of the vessels and Wärtsilä’s involvement will appear in the January issue of Tanker Operator Magazine.