Høglund lands automation contract

Høglund is required to work in partnership with its customers, shipyards and naval architects to devise new solutions to address complex automation challenges. Bernhard Schulte’s LNG bunkering vessel, which will be built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, is one of only a few of its kind so far. This places unique requirements on the automation systems Høglund will provide, which include the vessel’s power management system, and additional systems that manage interactions between the ship machinery systems, and the cargo plant. While LNG carriers have been in service for many years, and use boil-off gas to burn in their engines, bunkering barges must extract vapour from receiving ships to use as fuel. This requires additional interfaces between the gas plant and the rest of the ship, drastically increasing the complexity of the automation.

Høglund is leading the way in this relatively new segment. Of a small number of LNG bunkering vessels that currently exist, Høglund automation solutions are present on three of them, including Shell’s specialised LNG bunkering vessel now being built at STX in Korea, and the Seagas, a bunkering vessel owned by AGA and operated by Sirius, that has completed around 1200 bunkering operations successfully.

Børge Nogva, CEO of Høglund Marine Automation said: “When creating automation solutions for an entirely new vessel sub-segment within LNG, it’s hard to predict and foresee what challenges might emerge, which means you can’t just use an off the shelf solution. By playing a consultative role throughout the design and build stages, and supporting vessels 24/7 once they begin operation, automation suppliers can deliver significant benefits in terms of reliability and efficiency, as these projects demonstrate.”

In addition to the automation systems on board, Høglund also supports automation systems with remote access, allowing its engineers to resolve automation issues remotely, saving money and time that would otherwise be spent on sending engineers to vessels to upgrade software.

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/25042017/hglund-lands-automation-contract/