Conrad Shipyard and The Shearer Group have been awarded an Approval in Principle by the American Bureau of Shipping for the design of the 4,200 horsepower LNG towboat.
The vessel is based on TSGI’s azimuth drive (z-drive) towboat design. The new LNG powered towboat design capitalizes on Wärtsilä’s dual fuel technology. This technology is the most widely accepted dual fuel technology currently in use in the domestic U.S. market. While Wärtsilä’s existing dual fuel engines are medium speed diesels, it is anticipated that future engine developments will result in lighter and smaller high speed units. The design is flexible enough to allow for the use of either engine option as determined by the operator.
“By combining two widely accepted technologies; z-drives and Wärtsilä’s dual fuel engines and fuel system, we have mitigated most of the risks associated with being an early adopter of this novel technology” says Greg Beers, P.E., TSGI’s President . “By incorporating proven technologies, we have minimized the risks that first movers will be taking with the switch to utilizing LNG as fuel.”
The Wärtsilä system is basically a smaller version of the system currently installed on the Harvey Gulf Multi Purpose Supply Vessels, and as noted above, the z-drive towboat designs have been operating successfully since 2008, TSGI said in a statement.
Press Release; Image: TSGI