LNG Hybrid Barge expected at Port of Hamburg
Becker Marine Systems is expecting the first LNG Hybrid Barge, a floating liquefied power plant, to arrive at the Port of Hamburg soon. The vessel will be supplying cruise ships with low-emission, environmentally-friendly energy during their layovers at port.
The LNG Hybrid Barge, the first classified vessel employing LNG technology under the German flag, is expected at the weekend. Dirk Lehmann, Managing Director of Becker Marine Systems, said: “If all goes well and the weather remains stable, the LNG Hybrid Barge should be arriving at its future home in the port of Hamburg on 4 or 5 October.”
The current position of the barge, which is equipped with five generators, can be seen on the LNG Hybrid Barge website. Following the technical launch at Komárno, Slovakia one month ago, the 76.7 m long, 11.4 m wide and approx. 1.7 m draught LNG Hybrid Barge set off towards the North Sea.
“Despite some narrow river bends and many locks, the 1500 km trip up the Danube, Main and Rhine rivers has so far progressed with no trouble at all,” said Lehmann. On land, an info bus from Hybrid Port Energy GmbH (the operator of the LNG Hybrid Barge and a subsidiary of Becker Marine Systems) has been accompanying the tow convoy.
LNG Hybrid Barge in Cologne with push boat Stark, just a few days ago
Final outfitting
After arriving in Hamburg, it will be dry docked at the Blohm + Voss shipyard for final outfitting and for technical testing in a multi-stage test procedure. In mid-October, the connector for supplying power to cruise ships will be handed over to cooperation partner AIDA Cruises as part of a naming ceremony. The LNG Hybrid Barge will then be connected via cable to the ‘AIDAsol’ ship for the first time on a test basis. Becker Marine Systems will be announcing the exact date shortly beforehand.
Supplying cruise ships with low-emission power
Hamburg will be the first port in Europe to be providing an external, low-emission power supply to cruise ships. Use of LNG as a fuel will enable the generators on ships to be switched off during layovers at port. This will avoid sulfur oxides and soot particles, and, at the same time, significantly reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides and CO2.
Adapted from press release by Ted Monroe
Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/small-scale-lng/02102014/lng-hybrid-barge-expected-at-port-of-hamburg-1524/
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