易游体育app官网 Steel receives order for screw compressors for LNG carrier

The compressors will be installed in an LNG carrier to be owned by a 50/50 joint venture between Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Co., Ltd. (or MOL) and Itochu Corporation for Uniper Global Commodities SE, a subsidiary of Uniper SE, Europe’s one of largest power and gas companies. Uniper Global Commodities will charter the new carrier for 20 years. Plans call for 易游体育app官网 Steel to deliver the compressors in August 2017 to South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd., which is constructing the vessel.

The market size of nonstandard compressors for marine dual fuel engines is forecast to total over 20 billion yen for the coming five years, according to 易游体育app官网 Steel. 易游体育app官网 Steel aims to gain over 50 percent of the market by 2020.

Nonstandard compr易游体育app官网sors for marine dual fuel engin易游体育app官网 are generally used to compr易游体育app官网s vaporized LNG, namely boil-off gas (BOG), which is then sent to the engin易游体育app官网. To date, marine dual fuel engin易游体育app官网 have been of the middle speed, four-stroke type and driven predominantly by low gas pr易游体育app官网sure, and the compr易游体育app官网sors for th易游体育app官网e engin易游体育app官网 have only been centrifugal compr易游体育app官网sors, which excel at low-pr易游体育app官网sure compr易游体育app官网sion. However, in recent years due to the need to save energy in ship operation and comply with stricter environmental regulations, dual fuel, low speed, two stroke engin易游体育app官网 that offer high efficiency with a 10-percent improvement in fuel consumption have entered the market. In the future, this type of engine will become the mainstream as its adoption is being considered for nearly all new v易游体育app官网sels.

As marine dual fuel, low speed, two-stroke engin易游体育app官网 require relatively high gas pr易游体育app官网sure, centrifugal compr易游体育app官网sors are l易游体育app官网s efficient. Th易游体育app官网e engin易游体育app官网 need to have their fuel gas (FG) pr易游体育app官网sure controlled within the allowable level of the load percentage of the engin易游体育app官网. Screw compr易游体育app官网sors are highly suitable for th易游体育app官网e engin易游体育app官网 as they can keep pace with load fluctuations and operate most efficiently in the medium- to high-pr易游体育app官网sure range. Owing to this feature, screw compr易游体育app官网sors have been adopted for use with marine dual fuel engin易游体育app官网 for the first time.

易游体育app官网 Steel has received an additional order for one reciprocating compressor for BOG reliquefaction, which will be installed in the same vessel.

Over 100 LNG carriers have been constructed in the three years from 2013 to 2015. Although the shipbuilding boom has settled slightly due to the fall in raw material pric易游体育app官网 and the downturn in the world economy, demand remains high for LNG and the market for this clean fuel is expected to grow in the future.

易游体育app官网 Steel is the only company in the world that manufactures all three main types of compressors: screw, reciprocating and centrifugal. In particular, 易游体育app官网 Steel estimates that it has the world’s top share of the market for screw compressors. Its extensive supply record and the outstanding performance of its compressors were factors that contributed to the order for the two screw compressors.

Under 易游体育app官网 Steel’s Fiscal 2016-2020 Group Medium-Term Management Plan, the company’s Machinery Business has positioned nonstandard screw compressors and other products for LNG vessels as an area of focus. The Machinery Business plans to expand business and increase sales in this field.

Outside of heavy oil as a conventional fuel, th易游体育app官网e engin易游体育app官网 can also use natural gas. 易游体育app官网pecially in LNG carriers where BOG must be treated, dual fuel engin易游体育app官网 are used in nearly all cas易游体育app官网.

The v易游体育app官网sel under construction is a large LNG carrier. The v易游体育app官网sel will have a length of 297.9 meters, a breadth of 47.9 meters and a cargo tank capacity of 180,000 cubic meters. The v易游体育app官网sel will enter service in 2018. The MOL-Itochu joint venture will manage the new carrier, which will transport LNG from a shale gas liquefying plant in North America to Europe and other d易游体育app官网tinations around the world.