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DNV GL has presented Oshima Shipbuilding Company with an approval in principle (AIP) certificate for a liquefied natural gas(LNG)-fuelled Kamsarmax bulk carrier at the Nor-Shipping exhibition in Oslo today.

According to DNV GL, the new design has been found to comply with its class rules and all current and upcoming regulations, including the new emission control regulations and the draft International Code of Safety for Ships using Gases or other Low-flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code) for fuel with a low flashpoint.

Morten Løvstad, DNV GL Bulk Carrier Business Director, said: "LNG is emerging in a number of ship sectors and has great potential. We were very pleased to work on this innovative design with Oshima. It offers customers a flexible, safe, future-proof solution and the opportunity to almost eliminate SOx emissions and particulate matter, cut NOx by 80 percent with EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculating) and reduce CO2."

As space on deck is limited on a bulk carrier, the design features an innovative solution - changing the ship's superstructure to a u-shape that can accommodate the LNG tank in its centre. This approach allows the accommodation deck house to be completely separated from the LNG storage tank and scalability in terms of the amount of LNG storage onboard. Meanwhile, a tank cover adds an additional safety barrier and is said to ensure compliance with the draft IGF Code. The bunkering stations for LNG, heavy fuel oil (HFO) and marine diesel oil (MDO) are located at the side of the accommodation deck house.

Tatsurou Iwashita, Director and General Manager of the Design Department at Oshima, explained: "One of the main factors for shipowners and operators considering the use of LNG as ship fuel is the space required to store LNG on board. But as a result of our changes to the superstructure, our design does not reduce the vessel's cargo capacity. Combined with its dual fuel capabilities, this should make the design very attractive for charterers, especially for trade routes where the LNG fuel price is competitive to HFO and substantially cheaper than marine gas oil (MGO)."

The Kamsarmax vessel is designed for dual-fuel operation, using both LNG and HFO to power the main engine, the generators and the boiler. The LNG handling system for receiving AIP was supported by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Oshima's latest Panamax/Kamsarmax hull design provided the basis for the vessel's shape.

"This design has proven successful, and its fuel performance is well documented, providing the experts with important operational data they could use to adapt the design to LNG operation," DNV GL said.

The vessel's parameters are also based on data generated in a DNV GL feasibility study from 2014 that examined the use of LNG in a trade route between Europe and North America from a technological and economic perspective.

"Taking all relevant factors into account, we found that an LNG-fuelled Kamsarmax bulk carrier, which only uses LNG in Emission Control Areas, would require 500-700 cubic metres of LNG and one bunkering operation for a round trip between Europe and North America," said Løvstad.

If it were powered with LNG for the entire voyage, it would require 2,000-2,500 cubic metres of LNG, DNV GL says.

Image: DNV GL Group President and CEO Dr Henrik O. Madsen (right) presents the CEO of Oshima Shipbuilding, Sho Minami, with the AiP certificate for the Japanese yard's LNG-fuelled Kamsarmax bulk carrier design.