Green methanol-fueled VLCC wins AiP from CCS, DNV

The green methanol-powered very large crude carrier (VLCC) ship concept jointly developed by COSCO SHIPPING Energy and CSSC’s Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (DSIC) has received approval in principle (AIP) from two classification societies.

On 17 February 2022, China Classification Society (CCS) and DNV issued the AIP.

This ship type is a low-carbon/zero-carbon alternative fuel ship jointly developed by DSIC and COSCO Shipping Energy in response to the industry’s decarbonization.

Its conceptual design is based on the latest generation of 310,000 dwt VLCCs designed and built by DSIC.

The vessel is equipped with two methanol fuel tanks with a total of 11,000 cubic meters, which can meet the fuel requirements of the whole ship’s main engine, auxiliary engine and boiler for the entire voyage. The endurance reaches 23,000 nautical miles.

The partners jointly carried out the design evaluation of the overall arrangement of the ship, the selection and arrangement of fuel tanks, and the fuel system, and provided a full range of technical services for the design of the ship in terms of compliance verification and design optimization.

At present, within the context of increasing concern about the carbon emission intensity of marine fuels in the whole life cycle, methanol fuels with relatively high maturity in terms of onboard application technology, especially “green methanol” with huge carbon reduction potential, are more and more popular in the shipping industry.

The design and approval of this ship type provide a novel and practical solution for the selection of alternative fuel ship types for large oil tankers, according to the partners in this project.

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