Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) General Electric (GE) and Lloyd’s Register have joined forces to develop a gas turbine powered, electrically driven 14,000 TEU class container ship design.
The joint development project was signed on 15 March, 2016 in Seoul by the three parties. The project will see HHI and LR further their work on maximised and safe container loading and it will also strengthen GE’s collaboration with LR on the COGES (Combined Gas turbine, Electric and Steam) propulsion and power system technology.
To date, gas turbine power has not been installed onto a deep sea cargo ship. However, the successful application of the technology on naval vessels, high speed craft and passenger ships has led to great interest in its application in the commercial deep sea shipping industry.
Previously, gas turbines have demonstrated the ability to produce high power but in a compact package (at approximately 80% lighter and 30% smaller than comparable slow speed diesel application). Also, the turbines can be located anywhere on the ship and can be run on gas or conventional diesel.
If successful, this project will make way for great innovation in the industry. This particular innovation would very much support ship operator efforts in maintaining regulatory compliance with regulatory governance in force for ship nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions. The gas turbines can be equipped with a GE Dry Low Emissions (DLE) or single annular combustion system which enables compliance with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Tier III NOx standards.
Furthermore, the engines plus DLE complies with the United States Environmental Protection Agency requirements Tier IV with no requirement for exhaust treatment technology installation and no methane slip.
The project will be technically led by LR’s Busan Technical Support Office engineering experts and facilitated by Sung-Gu Park, Lloyd’s Register’s Design Innovation Strategic Marketing Manager, based at the Southampton Global Technology Centre. The testing will facilitate the evaluation of technical risks to ensure safety and operability and to help mature the design and minimise risk for the system and the ship.
Image courtesy of Lloyd’s Register
