Anthony Veder and a team of Dutch partners including Cat dealer Bolier, have retrofitted the Coral Anthelia,an ethylene and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, to run on multiple fuels for maximum efficiency and fuel savings.
The ship’s conversion allows the M 46 DF engine to now run on LNG, marine diesel oil (MGO) and heavy fuel oil (HFO) providing high operational flexibility.
The company stated that they wanted to install a dual-fuel engine at the time of the ship’s construction, however, this was not possible as the technology was not ready. When the technology became available, Anthony Veder conducted an R&D project to compare in-hull and outside-hull retrofits, with the in-hull process emerging as the best option.
The preparation phase included pre-determining all the transport openings through which the required components could be transferred and laying out 90% of the necessary cabling onboard the ship before it arrived at the shipyard. Following this the ship engine was dissembled and rebuilt immediately, the whole retrofit taking less than five weeks. Additionally, because the ship’s engine, built by Caterpillar, had been engineered to allow for retrofitting, the in-hull conversion took place without the need to move the engine block or perform extensive machining.
Frans Juhrend, Customer Support Project Engineer at Bolier commented: “Docking a vessel is costly, so not requiring the Coral Anthelia to go into dry dock was a significant cost saving. The feedback from the customer has been very positive both on the conversion and on the new technology.”
He continued: “The conversion from an existing diesel engine to dual-fuel is mostly driven by either environmental, legislative or financial reasons. For customers transporting LNG as cargo, such a conversion results in a win-win situation in all three areas.”
