Alfa Laval PureSOx systems to be installed by Hanjin Heavy aboard two LPG carriers
Alfa Laval PureSOx systems will soon be installed by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction aboard two LPG carriers for Belgian owner/operator EXMAR. Because these vessels are newbuilds, the installations place Alfa Laval’s planning, documentation and delivery capabilities in the spotlight, the company said in its press release.
Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction, Korea’s oldest shipbuilder and now one of the world’s leading shipyards, is a specialist in ultra container carriers and tankers. Recently the yard was contracted by Belgian energy logistics company EXMAR for newbuild LPG carriers that will join EXMAR’s existing LPG fleet of around 30 vessels. The new LPG carriers, each with a capacity of 38,000 m3, will be built at Hanjin’s Subic Shipyard in the Philippines and delivered to EXMAR in Q1 and Q2 of 2016.
Two of these vessels will be equipped with Alfa Laval PureSOx scrubber systems for exhaust gas cleaning, which will be delivered to the Subic Shipyard in December 2014 and March 2015. The systems will be configured as hybrids, able to operate in an open loop with seawater or in a closed loop with circulation water. Each multiple-inlet system will serve a two-stroke Doosan MDT 6S59ME-B 9.3 main engine and three Doosan MAN 8L23/30H Mk2 auxiliary engines.
As newbuilds, these installations place especially high focus on Alfa Laval’s order execution capabilities. “The choice of exhaust gas cleaning from Alfa Laval is based not only on the merits of the PureSOx system itself, but also on Alfa Laval’s merits as a scrubber supplier,” says Lee Dong-hoon from Hanjin’s senior management.
With 2015 rapidly approaching, much focus has been placed on the retrofit of existing vessels to comply with SOx limits in Emission Control Areas (ECAs). Yet the task of incorporating a scrubber into a newbuild can be an even more demanding procedure for both customer and supplier. Substantial differences exist in the process, beginning with the quotation stage.
“The purchase order for a newbuild – unlike that of a retrofit – includes yard-specific demands that must be taken into account,” says René Diks, Manager Marketing & Sales, Exhaust Gas Cleaning at Alfa Laval. “As the scrubber supplier, we must be well prepared to clarify and motivate any technical deviations between our system and the shipyard’s own thinking. This is the basis on which the shipyard makes an informed choice, before the terms and conditions of the contract are even handled.”
