Alfa Laval to Provide Scrubbers

Four PureSOx systems have now been ordered by Finnlines, a provider of RoRo and Ropax services, whose Baltic Sea and North Sea operations will soon fall within an Emission Control Area (ECA).

“With Alfa Laval PureSOx, Finnlines will be able to continue using HFO in an area of operation where ECA limits apply as of January 2015,” said René Diks, Manager Marketing & Sales, Exhaust Gas Cleaning at Alfa Laval. “In just a few months, having a scrubber like PureSOx on board will give these vessels an immediate fuel cost advantage over competitors who switch to distillates.”

Alfa Laval will fulfil the Finnlines order in late 2014. Retrofits of the RINA-classified Finnhawk, Finnkraft, Finnmill and Finnpulp will be conducted at yards in Northern Europe, with installation and commissioning taking place from December 2014 to January 2015.

The Alfa Laval PureSOx systems for all four Finnlines vessels are designed for open-loop operation with seawater, which means they are sized for the low alkalinity of the Baltic Sea.

“The further north you sail, the less alkaline the Baltic Sea becomes,” said Mr. Diks. “This has to be taken into account when installing an open-loop system for these waters, because the alkalinity of the seawater has a direct impact on the scrubber’s cleaning capacity.”

In addition, Finnlines has chosen a versatile scrubber design that leaves the possibility for a later conversion into hybrid systems.

[mappress]
June 2, 2014