Wärtsilä receives AIP certificate for new LNGPac system

The new Wärtsilä LNGPac, the upgraded version of the company's successful LNG fuel handling system, has been granted an AIP (Approval in Principle) certificate from the classification society DNV.

The certificate will be presented at the Wärtsilä stand in Hall A4, Booth 305 at the SMM conference and exhibition in Hamburg, Germany today, 9 September.

The AIP certificate covers Wärtsilä's innovative improvements to the original LNGPac, according to company officials. The new solution has removed the heating media skid and its pumps, and includes an improvement to the Wärtsilä Cold Recovery solution.

"This is an important step in making this new feature of the Wärtsilä LNGPac available to the marine market, and represents an expected verification of the technical aspects that have gone into the development of this system," said Jaakko Eskola, president of Wärtsilä's ship power business.

The certificate is based on technical material and safety analyses, and includes documentation concerning normal operation of the system and a presentation of risk scenarios. In effect, it means that the system is judged to be safe and reliable and that it will be approved by classes in actual projects.

"The presentation of this approval in principle marks another chapter in a longstanding and successful cooperation between Wärtsilä and DNV," said Dr. Gerd-Michael Würsig, DNV's business director for LNG-fueled ships.

"The development of the first LNGPac and its installation onboard the Bit Viking, the first LNG conversion of a vessel in service, were milestones in the uptake of LNG as a ship fuel, and this upgraded LNGPac is another significant step forward," he continued.

"As DNV's experience with LNG has grown over the years, so too has our conviction that LNG can make a significant and positive contribution to the efficiency and sustainability of the maritime industry as a whole. To keep this momentum for the use of LNG as a ship fuel, DNV will continue to work with partners like Wärtsilä to ensure that owners and yards can be confident that this technology meets strict safety and reliability standards."

The heating media skid, a complete circuit of heat exchangers, pumps and piping, was earlier used to evaporate LNG for pressurising the storage tank and to provide the engine with the correct gas temperature.

In looking beyond the fuel gas system, Wärtsilä says it has demonstrated its ability to integrate multiple interfaces within the LNGPac. Instead of the heating media skid, the new LNGPac system directly utilises the engine's cooling water, which results in fewer interfaces and less installation work for the shipyard.

By eliminating electrical consumers, Wärtsilä enables the vessel to become even more environmentally friendly, according to company officials, who say that new, innovative solutions have been applied to almost every aspect of the compact and easy-to-install fuel gas system.

Besides the removal of the heating media skid and improvements to the Cold Recovery solution, the new LNGPac features innovations such as an integrated airlock and control cabinet, a more compact bunkering station, an enclosed or integrated gas valve unit, and maximised LNG storage volume.

Several of the features have been patented by Wärtsilä, which first introduced the LNGPac in 2010. 

The upgraded LNGPac system was officially launched during the ONS 2014 conference and exhibition being held in Stavanger, Norway from August 25 to 28.

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