LNG tanker wins Ship of the Year Award

An innovative liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker, an Alewijnse Marine Systems project, has won the KNVTS Ship of the Year Award at the 16^th Martime Awards Gala, which took place on the 31^st October 2013. The award to the LNG Greenstream tanker marks the fifth year in a row that an Alewijnse project was won a major award at the annual event.

The tanker, one of two identical builds, was built by Peters Shipyards, Kampen, and Alewijnse was responsible for the electrical installation onboard the ship, including the systems that control and regulate the LNG-fuelled generators. The 110 m Greenstream tanker is the first commercial inland vessel to use LNG-electric propulsion.

Alewijnse designed and installed a propulsion system based around four LNG-powered gensets capable of generating 285 kW each. These supply electrical power to the two propulsion engines and the associated electrical infrastructure. The centre of the system contains a special DC bus designed by Alewijnse and supplied by a maximum of four generators through an AC/DC converter. This allows the generators to run at different speeds simultaneously, giving greater flexibility and greater fuel economy.

“We are delighted that the awards committee recognised the capabilities of the Greenstream and her state-of-the-art systems,” said Jan Oud, Managing Director of Alewijnse Noord. “This was very much unexplored territory for all those in the development partnership, but the challenges were overcome. The result is proof that LNG-electric inland vessels have a bright future ahead with their ability to meet the low emissions targets prevalent on inland waterways.”

The second tanker was delivered in the summer of 2013. Both are chartered by Shell and operated by Interstream Barging on the Rhine.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/lng-shipping/05112013/lng_tanker_wins_ship_of_the_year_award_385/