Alaska factory trawler to upgrade steam boiler plant

From Marine Log Article:
22 November 2011

Flekkefjord, Norway, based Parat Halvorsen AS has been awarded an order for an 8000 kg/h steam boiler plant to be installed in the factory trawler, Northern Hawk, which is owned by Coastal Villages Pollock, LLC.

Northern Hawk is a stern trawler, built by the shipyard Ulstein Hatlø in 1990. parat's delivery is a retrofit of the existing boiler plant, designed to meet the needs of the on-board fishmeal plant and vessel heating system. The new boiler plant will be delivered with the latest technology for burning fish oil.

Northern Hawk, whose homeport is Chevak, Alaska, will be docked in Seattle, Wash., in April of 2012 for the installation of the boiler plant, and for general maintenance and repair. Northern Hawk is a sophisticated commercial fishing vessel that operates in the waters of the Bering Sea harvesting Alaska pollock

LNG use on Washington State Ferries Could Save Millions over Time.

An LNG-fuelled ferry would have significant environmental and economic benefits, according to a recently feasibility study for Washington State Ferries. Architectural and marine engineering firm, The Glosten Associates, recently completed the feasibility study for Washington State Ferries (WSF) on converting its 144-car ferry design to liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion. 

Glosten's study concluded that the conversion is both technically feasible and cost effective, although technical and regulatory challenges remain. The study examined design, economic, regulatory, and environmental issues. 

The operational savings for a single vessel are estimated to be between $900,000 and $1.25 million per year, after an upfront capital cost premium of $8.5 million to $10 million. Switching to natural gas fuel will significantly reduce emissions of nitrous oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), particulate matter, and carbon dioxide (CO2). These greenhouse gases have been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as significant factors in harming human health, including respiratory illnesses, as well as damaging to the environment. 

Glosten’s design was formally reviewed by the United States Coast Guard (USCG). USCG provided extensive feedback as well as a written response, showing their willingness to work with owners early in developing a case-by-case design basis until official rules are developed. The USCG response provides WSF with a regulatory basis from which to advance the project design. This is an important result, as the lack of USCG regulations is often cited as a primary risk to vessel owners interested in reaping the benefits of LNG fuel conversion.

Overall, this looks very promising for the nation's largest ferry system to save on operating costs. The initial investment is pretty sizeable, however saving nearly a million dollars per year in fuel will do a lot to shrink the state budget. We think that this would be a great use of federal funds as opposed to some of the other job creation projects that have been touted - such as the high-speed rail project the current administration is pushing.

Click herefor the full Glosten Associates report.

STX Anounces Eoseas Concept Ship, Incredible Eco-Friendly Design!

The Following is an Article from Ship Technology . This is a pretty incredible design. I would venture to call it the mother of all Sailing Vessels! 

 (11/9/2011)

www.ship-technology.com

Eoseas is a concept cruise ship being developed by STX Europe in collaboration with Stirling Design International (SDI).

The 105,000t ship will have an overall length of 305m, breadth of 60m and draft of 8m. Eoseas is being developed as a part of the Ecorizon programme launched by STX France in 2007.

STX's Ecorizon programme

Ecorizon is a technical programme aimed at developing innovative marine clean technologies and alternatives to oil fuels. The project attained maturity in 2009 after two years of research and development work.

Jointly funded by STX Europe and the Regional Council, Ecorizon consists of five major work programmes including energy management, air emission management, water management, waste management and sustainable design.

Ecorizon addresses the entire environmental footprint of the ship throughout the design, construction and operation stages. The long-term goal of the concept is to reduce the use of non-sustainable energy to 50% by 2015.

Eoseas design and features

Eoseas incorporates a pentamaran hull design. The double hull design will feature long promenade decks on both sides of the ship.

The ship will be a trimaran on five hulls, of which two hulls on either side will have the same fore-and-aft plane. An air cushion under the main hull optimises the hydrodynamic characteristics of the vessel.

The double skin on the ship will function as a natural air conditioning system. The frictional resistance of the ship is reduced with the air film injection and the froude number is reduced by incorporating vertical bow.

Fresh water is generated onboard using highly efficient multistage evaporators and reverse osmosis. The ship will feature an advanced wastewater purification system to treat grey and black waters. An absorption chiller absorbs rain water from the upper decks. It uses heat generated from engines.

The design objectives of the Eoseas are to reduce power consumption by 50%, emissions of CO2 by 50%, SO2 by 100%, NOX by 90% and ash by 100%.

Accommodation onboard the concept cruise ship

Eoseas can accommodate 3,311 passengers in 1,403 cabins. There are 555 cabins for 1,089 crew members. The ship allows the passengers to fully explore the maritime environment. The passenger space ratio of the ship will be 31.7 when full and 37.4 based on lower berths occupancy.

The cabins are designed to use natural lighting and are fitted with presence sensors and light sensors. The energy management systems in the cabins reduce energy consumption by 30%.

Propulsion and power

Eoseas will be powered by four dual-fuel LNG diesel electric generator sets. Each genset provides 8MW power for propulsion and hotel load. There are four screws, two pump propellers with shaft lines on the outriggers and two pump propeller pods on the central hull.

LNG is stored in a storage system similar to that of LNG carriers and is transferred in a pressurised service tank. The ship will have an advanced heat recovery plant to recover thermal energy.

8,300m² photovoltaic panels fixed on side and upper deck provide maximum power of 108MW and an average of 270kWe. The organic waste gasification plant onboard generates 300kWe syn gas which is used in the generator sets.

The ship is equipped with an innovative sail concept patented by STX France. The sails mounted on five masts over 12,440m² significantly use wind energy for propulsion.

STX France conducted 13 tank tests with different hulls and propulsion configurations during 2008 and 2009, achieving 17% improvements over conventional propulsion / hull systems.

The innovative propulsion system aboard the ship enhances fuel efficiency, redundancy and manoeuvring.