Wartsila to join LNG-powered dry bulk carrier project

The Finnish engine manufacturer Wärtsilä on Tuesday informed it will team up with an international group of shipping industry companies and organisations to develop a concept for equipping future dry bulk carrier vessels with LNG propulsion.

Project Forward, led by Athens-based Arista Shipping began in 2015, aims to develop a commercially feasible Athens-based LNG powered dry bulk carrier design capable of complying with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Energy Efficiency Design Index 2025 standards, Wärtsilä said in a statement.

Other project members are Finnish ship designer Deltamarin, the Houston-based classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and GTT, the French LNG membrane containment system designer.

The basis of the concept’s propulsion system will be based on the Wärtsilä 31DF dual-fuel engine that allows the use of either LNG or conventional marine fuel oils.

The project will be revealed in 2017, Wärtsilä said.

LNG World News Staff