BW LPG announces world’s first retrofitting of four LPG-propelled dual-fuel engines
BW LPG has signed contracts including future options for the delivery and retrofitting of four LPG-propelled dual-fuel engines in its fleet, in a world’s first initiative. BW LPG expects the first retrofitting to take place in conjunction with scheduled drydockings starting 2020, the company said in its press release.
With LPG propulsion, BW LPG will reduce its sulphur oxide emissions by up to 97 percent, allowing for full compliance with all current and future sulphur emissions requirements. This means the retrofitted ships, when operating on LPG, will go beyond IMO’s global 0.5% sulphur emissions cap to also be in full compliance with Emission Control Areas (ECA) and Sulphur Emission Control Areas’ (SECA) 0.1% sulphur cap. In addition, with LPG fuel, BW LPG will reduce emissions of particulate matters by ~90 percent, greenhouse gases by ~25 percent, and nitrogen oxides by ~20 percent.
LPG as a marine fuel offers efficiency gains on many fronts. Output efficiencies will improve by ~11 percent with LPG when compared with compliant fuels.
Other efficiencies gained with LPG include easy storage, faster refueling and wide availability of bunkering ships and facilities. All these ensure that LPG is a long-term sustainable marine fuel.
LPG as a marine fuel is also future-proof and cost-efficient. Even at today’s pricing, LPG is advantageous vs heavy fuel oil, offering high life-time saving prospects.
LPG propulsion means that engines are cleaner, cheaper to maintain and provide higher efficiency. Dual-fuel engines provides fuel flexibility, which means full redundancy to ensure uninterrupted operations. Conversion to LPG propelled dual-fuel engines is a life-cycle upgrade and long-term commitment.
About BW LPG
BW LPG is the world's leading owner and operator of LPG vessels, owning and operating Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC) and Large Gas Carriers (LGC) with a total carrying capacity of over 4 million cbm. With four decades of operating experience in LPG shipping and experienced seafarers and staff, BW LPG offers a flexible and reliable service to customers. BW LPG is associated with BW Group, one of the world's leading shipping groups. BW's fleet of over 180 vessels includes oil tankers, LNG and LPG carriers, floating storage and regasification (FSRU) units, chemical tankers, dry cargo carriers and floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units.
