Successful sea trial of propulsion system provided by NGC Marine for Singapore 7500m3 LNG bunkering vessel
The propulsion system provided by Nanjing High Accurate Marine Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to "NGC Marine") used for 7500 m3 LNG bunkering vessel (FueLNG Bellina) has gone through sea trial successfully and delivered to client recently. NGC Marine supplied azimuth thrusters, bow thruster, control system of thrusters and etc. key equipment for the vessel.
The vessel is designed to be 119m in length of wetted surface, 19.5m in breadth moulded, design draught at midship is 5.7 m. The vessel equipped with dual-fuel generator, full electric propulsion, two sets of 1000kw stern azimuth thrusters, one set of 400kw CPP bow thruster, designed speed is over 10kn, the thrust of single bow thruster reaches 53kN which enables a high degree of manoeuvrability. The vessel is ABS Class with APS Notation, and it's the world's first bunkering vessel with Smart Notation.
The vessel is Singapore's first specially constructed LNG bunkering vessel, ordered by FueLNG, a joint venture between Keppel Offshore & Marine and Shell Eastern Petroleum, and built in Keppel Shipyard. The expert team from NGC Marine adopted advanced propeller design theory, developed high efficiency propeller especially for this project, through the verification of VIENNA MODEL BASIN LTD open water and self-propulsion test, the open water efficiency and speed are consistent with forecasted result of propeller design. For bow thruster, based on the series of hydrodynamic experimental data of bow thruster mastered, NGC Marine forecasted propeller noise and harmonic pressure amplitute during working of bow thruster successfully, which provided database for the vessel’s vibration and noise reduction. The design of control system took into account the high-speed navigation condition of the vessel and micro-adjustment conditions of LNG fuel bunkering, which provided reliable equipment guarantee for the navigation and operation of the vessel. During sea trial, the whole propulsion system ran smoothly, the steering and pitching action was smooth and reliable, the logic of control system was clear, the response was fast, the performance indicators met the design and requirements for the use of the vessel, fully reflected the strong and solid capability of bow thruster and azimuth thruster in R&D, manufacturing, quality and after-sales service.
The orders for dual-fuel vessels are growing worldwide, including many large vessels, which will create a large demand for LNG fuel, and Singapore is currently the world's leading fuel bunkering port, with Singapore aiming to become one of the world's leading LNG power vessel bunkering ports in the coming years, in the meanwhile, the demand for LNG bunkering vessels will grow accordingly.
The successful sea trial of LNG bunkering vessel shows that by increasing R&D investment, NGC Marine has mastered key technology of marine propulsion system, is fully capable of customizing high efficient and reliable propulsion system for all types of vessels, and the successful cooperation experience with first-class users such as Keppel and Shell will definitely help NGC Marine to improve the competitiveness of high-quality propulsion systems in the international market.