LR, Cargill, Minerva Dry and NACKS to develop wind-assisted, methanol-ready bulker

Lloyd’s Register (LR), Cargill International, Minerva Dry Inc. and Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co Ltd (NACKS) have joined forces on the design of a Kamsarmax bulk carrier with methanol and rotor sail capability.

As informed, the collaboration comes as a result of a Joint Development Project (JDP) established in 2022. The JDP included input on user requirements from dry bulk operator Cargill and brought together the operational experience of shipowner Minerva Dry with the design knowledge of Chinese shipyard NACKS.

LR acted as an adviser throughout the joint development project as the sole classification society for the design of this vessel.

“Lloyd’s Register is proud to have collaborated on this JDP with Cargill, Minerva Dry and NACKS to design an energy efficient and future fuel ready Kamsarmax bulk carrier, bringing innovation to practice,” Nikos Kakalis, Global Bulk Carriers Segment Director, Lloyd’s Register said.

“And it is absolutely vital that stakeholders across the maritime value chain continue to work together to provide commercially viable bulk carriers to meet the sector’s demands whilst prioritising designs that comply with tightening GHG emission regulations, as evidenced by this JDP.”

“It’s been great to work closely with NACKS, Minerva Dry and LR on this project; they all brought a lot of knowledge and experience to the project; plus a willingness to challenge the status quo, and to consider new ideas and technologies. Rather than starting with a conventional fuelled design and adding on some limited “readiness” we essentially designed a methanol fuelled ship first, and worked backwards from there for the methanol-ready version. The result is a design that is truly ready and feasible for conversion,” Chris Hughes, Decarbonisation Specialist, Cargill International stated.

“We are at a time when the shipping industry is undergoing a transformation process caused mainly by the rapid technological advancement and the requirements and targets set towards the decarbonization of our industry. As such, Minerva Dry is committed to working with industry stakeholders and business partners in developing solutions that will enable the decarbonisation of shipping transportation,” Kostas Papadodimas, Technical Manager, Minerva Dry noted.

“The methanol-ready dual fuel Kamsarmax BC is another breakthrough in developing “Carbon-Neutral” vessels in NACKS by comprehensive research on optimal arrangement of methanol storage tanks, fuel supply and refuelling systems. By optimizing the hull form and implementation of energy saving devices, the vessel provides significant improvement in energy efficiency comparing with the last generation of Kamsarmax BC. It can satisfy the requirement of EEDI Phase 3 by using conventional fuel, with the potential for greater improvement in it following the utilization of wind propulsion and methanol fuel in the future,” Mingfeng Lu, Technical Director, NACKS stated.