Ferus Smit has announced that its LNG-powered cement tanker, M. V. Ireland, was successfully launched on 19 March 2016. The vessel was built for JT Cement – a joint venture (JV) between Erik Thun AB and KG Jebsen Cement (KGJ) – and is one of the world’s first dry cargo vessels to feature an LNG-fuelled propulsion system, which incorporates a pressurised LNG tank into the hull.
The vessel features a fully automated cement loading and unloading system, which is based the principle of the fluidisation of cement with compressed air. This allows the cement to be pumped through a totally closed – and, therefore, dust-free – piping system to shore facilities.
The completion of the Ireland follows the launch of another LNG-fuelled cement tanker by Ferus Smit in November 2015 – the M.V. Greenland. Greenland was also constructed for JT Cement and was the first LNG-fuelled dry cargo vessel. It features the same automated cement loading and unloading technology as the Ireland.
A video of the launch of the vessel can be seen below.
Edited from various sources by David Rowlands