New Partners Join CMA CGM, DNV GL, GTT in PERFECt II

Classification society DNV GL, container shipping major CMA CGM (and its subsidiary CMA Ships) and Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT), maker of LNG containment systems, have signed a cooperation agreement with new project participants ABB, Caterpillar’s Solar Turbines, and OMT for phase two of the PERFECt project.

The Piston Engine Room Free Efficient Containership (PERFECt) project investigates the possibility of using a combined gas and steam turbine system (COGAS) to power an ultra large container vessel (ULCS).

“The first phase of the project performed by GTT, CMA Ships and DNV GL showed promising results with regard to the commercial competitiveness of the design compared to an LNG-fuelled ship with conventional propulsion system,” according to DNV GL. 

The aim of the second phase of the project is to detail the technical concept and the commercial feasibility.

“The COGAS  system with electrical propulsion gives us a great deal of freedom in the general arrangement and in tailoring the installed power to the real operational requirements we are facing. New partners will bring their expertise to go further than the initial concept,” Ludovic Gérard, Executive Vice President CMA Ships, said.

The project’s phase two will build on the results of the original study which was launched in 2015. Some of the focus areas are process technology optimization of the COGAS system including the steam turbine, use of the available cooling capacity of the LNG, and further optimization of the ship design to attain greater efficiency and increased cargo capacity.

In phase one of the project GTT, CMA CGM (and its subsidiary CMA Ships) and DNV GL released a technical and feasibility study for a COGAS-powered LNG-fuelled electrically driven mega boxship.

Based on the results of that study, the PERFECt vessel design was found to offer potentially increased cargo capacity, greater layout flexibility and reduced maintenance costs than comparable conventionally powered (heavy fuel oil) HFO and LNG designs, DNV GL said.

According to the study, an engine room is not needed anymore. The three electric main motors, which are arranged on one common shaft, can be run fully independently of each other providing increased redundancy and reliability and a high level of safety.