Wärtsilä equipment picked for Knutsen’s LNG vessel

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä will supply an equipment package for a 30,000 cbm LNG vessel under construction in South Korea.

Wärtsilä said on Monday that it would deliver integrated propulsion and cargo handling solution for an LNG vessel being built at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) on behalf of Norway-based Knutsen OAS Shipping.

The order with Wärtsilä was booked in January 2019, and the contract includes an option for an additional sister vessel.

The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery in 2020, and the vessel is expected to be delivered during the first half of 2021.

Under a 12-year long term charter, the vessel will be operated by Knutsen and chartered to Italian energy services provider Edison. It will be used to supply coastal LNG deposit terminals in Italy.

As for the cargo handling system, it would include the fuel supply, cargo control system, boil-off gas (BOG) reliquefaction, and safety management.

The five-cylinder dual-fuel main engine and the Wärtsilä auxiliary dual-fuel engines are essential consumers for the BOG management system, which monitors and controls the cryogenic cargo, to ensure, in combination with a developed mixed refrigerant re-liquefaction unit, all-time control over the cargo tank pressure and temperature.

The company added that the vessel would be one of the first LNG carriers in its size to be equipped with space-saving C-type bi-lobe cargo tanks.

Within the equipment package, the company will deliver three dual-fuel auxiliary engines that power the board net, thrusters, cargo control system, and re-liquefaction module.