Maritime giants unite in methane abatement trial on Angelicoussis Group’s LNG carrier

Major maritime industry players led by Greek shipping company Maran Gas Maritime and Swiss-based climate tech firm Daphne Technology have joined forces on a methane abatement project involving one of Angelicoussis Group’s LNG carriers, the Maran Gas Chios.

Under the project, Daphne Technology’s SlipPure™ solution, an after-treatment system that cuts methane emissions on LNG-fuelled engines, also known as the methane slip, will be retrofitted onto Wärtsilä 34DF auxiliary engines on board Maran Gas Chios.

Daphne Technology’s SlipPure™ solution allows for the further abatement of methane in exhaust gas to negligible levels and is complementary to Wärtsilä technologies and developments. It received approval in principle from LR and DNV last year.

The pilot initiative will also be supported by key players within the maritime industry, including Lloyd’s Register (LR) as the independent auditor, Wärtsilä as the engine provider, Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (Shell) in the role of charterer of the vessel and project co-ordinator, and DNV providing the relevant class approvals for the retrofit.

“Maran Gas sees LNG as a readily available and mature fuel which offers substantial GHG reduction compared to the standard fuels used in shipping. At the same time, we are aware that the reduction of methane slip from dual-fuel marine engines to levels that are technically achievable is a key aim for the sustainability of LNG as fuel. Operating a very large fleet of LNG carriers of different propulsion technologies, Maran Gas believes that addressing methane slip will help release all the potential of LNG as a low GHG emissions fuel,” Andreas Spertos, Technical Director at Maran Gas Maritime Inc., said.

“Joining this project together with Shell, LR, Daphne and Wartsila and deciding to install the Daphne SlipPure^TM methane abatement solution on one of our ships shows our commitment to work jointly with high-profile partners towards exploring solutions to handle the methane slip. We look forward to seeing the results of the SlipPure^TM trial installed onboard our ship .”

Daphne Technology’s PureMetrics™ solution will also be installed onboard the Maran Gas Chios throughout the trial period, and LR will handle the dissemination of the data as an independent third-party verifier. PureMetrics™ is an advanced system that directly measures and reports real-time GHG emissions, eliminating the reliance on fuel consumption estimates and ensuring

Panos Mitrou, Global Gas Segment Director, Lloyd’s Register, said that LR’s AiP has enabled this technology to proceed to a milestone pilot application and that the learnings from this trial will support gas industry partners in de-risking their gas assets.

“Reducing methane emissions is a top priority for the maritime industry, and this trial of innovative technology on an operational ship marks an important milestone. LNG is the lowest-carbon marine fuel available at scale today, and this project, combined with efforts to reduce upstream methane emissions, will help to enhance LNG’s decarbonisation potential even further,” Steve Brown, Technology Manager at Shell, emphasised.

Commenting on the pilot, Grant Gassner, Director, lntegrated Systems & Solutions, Power Supply – at Wärtsilä, noted that investing in methane slip reduction technologies forms a very important part of the company’s wider strategy, and that cross-collaboration with stakeholders across the maritime industry is key to this.

This trial is aimed at facilitating the technical assessment and system feasibility analysis on SlipPure™ technology, supporting maritime stakeholders involved in the gas sector to de-risk their assets. For the SlipPure™ solution, HAZID and HAZOP workshops have been completed by LR as part of LR’s Risk-Based Certification process.

Methane slip onboard LNG carriers is a critical environmental concern in the context of maritime decarbonization. Methane slip refers to the unintentional release of unburned methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere during the combustion process in LNG-fueled engines.

This issue undermines the environmental benefits of using LNG as a marine fuel, as methane is significantly more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of its global warming potential.

To make LNG a truly viable and sustainable fuel for the maritime industry, it is imperative to reduce methane slip to negligible levels. This reduction not only aligns with the industry’s commitment to decarbonization but also ensures that LNG remains a cleaner and more environmentally friendly option for powering vessels, contributing to a greener future for maritime transportation.

Methane slip has been significantly reduced in modern engines thanks to continuous development of combustion technologies, but remains a challenge in LNG-powered vessels using older engine technologies.

Several initiatives are underway within the industry circles to help develop necessary solutions to eliminate the occurrence of methane slip from LNG-powered ships, including the Methane Abatement in Maritime Innovation Initiative (MAMII).