Greening the Inland Shipping Industry

June 9, 2012

Helping the inland shipping industry to become more sustainable, whilst at the same time increasing fuel efficiency and reducing costs. This is how Bram Kruyt, director inland water ways at Wärtsilä describes the goal of the ECO2 Inland Vessel project. Wärtsilä is the coordinating partner of the project and will supply a complete power system, including two of its 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel medium-speed engines, for a new dry cargo inland waterway vessel.

The ECO2 Inland Vessel Project is part of MariTIM, Maritime Technologies and Innovations Model region Germany-The Netherlands, subsidised by the European Commission. “The programme is aimed at greening the shipping industry”, explains Kruyt. “It comprises of three projects, one of them being the ECO2 Inland Vessel Project. The name ECO2 is a wink at CO2. With our dual fuel engines while using LNG, CO2 is reduced by 25%, NOx is reduced by 85% and the emission of SOx and particles is virtually none, compared to standard diesel fuel marine engines.”

Efficient and economical

The vessel the engine is ordered for, is the first of three inland vessels that will serve as pilots for innovative, environmentally friendly engines and propulsion for inland shipping. The first ship is being built for Combi International and there are negotiations with a party for the second pilot ship. A partner for the third pilot vessel is not yet found. The other partners of the ECO2 Inland Vessel Project are Koedood Dieselservice, Combi Group BV, Reederei Deymann, TNO, TeamCo Shipyards, Wärtsilä Hamworthy, DST and Hochschule Emden-Leer. ECO2’s goal is to identify the most efficient and economical power systems for various types of inland shipping vessels, to the ultimate benefit of the global inland shipping industry. Kruyt: “The three ships will be used as validation. CCR4 rules for inland shipping come into force in 2016, but the regulations are not yet determined. We will provide our research results to the government to show them what is feasible within the inland shipping industry.” The first vessel is planned to be operational by the beginning of next year, the second vessel should come into service shortly thereafter.

The pilot vessel will be the first inland shipping vessel that is able to operate on 90% to 95% on LNG, but it can also fully operate on marine gas oil. The dual fuel advantage means that the ship will never fall silent. Wärtsilä has already been working on the development of dual fuel engines for the inland shipping industry for two years, using the ten years of experience they already have with dual fuel in the shipping industry. Kruyt: “With diesel- electric propulsion, 10% of the power is lost. LNG will be the future, there is no alternative to it. I expect five ships to be in operation in 2013. The LNG tank of our vessel is placed below deck underneath the bridge for maximum fuel capacity without affecting the bridge clearance. This is safer and prevents losing cargo space and access to it. I predict that tanks will be situated more and more below deck. The gas is now supplied by trucks, mostly from Zeebrugge. The price includes the delivery at the ship, which is currently 20% to 25% cheaper than bunkering gasoil, so it is economically viable to switch to dual fuel. Hopefully, the GATE terminal in Rotterdam will soon be suitable for small consumers. Negotiations are ongoing and I am confident there will be a solution in the future.”

Gail van den Hanenberg