martedì 9 settembre 2014

LNG Hybrid Barge Readying for Hamburg



Environmentally-friendly Becker Marine Systems’ new LNG Hybrid Barge was launched in Komárno, Slovakia on September 5, 2014. The barge operates as a floating power plant, designed to
supply low-emission energy to cruise ships. The LNG Hybrid Barge is currently being prepared for towing and delivery to the Port of Hamburg. “This is an important day for the shipping industry, because the LNG Hybrid Barge is a big step forward for supplying cruise ships with environmentally-friendly energy,” said Dirk Lehman, Managing Director of Becker Marine Systems. Starting off from her place of construction on September 12, 2014, the LNG Hybrid Barge with a length of 76.7 m, a breadth of 11.4 m and draught of approx. 1.7 m will be making the 1,500 km journey up the Danube, Main and Rhine rivers north towards Hamburg.

Once there, technical testing and commissioning will be taking place at a shipyard. Following a naming ceremony in mid-October, the LNG Hybrid Barge will for the first time be delivering energy to a cruise ship as part of a joint project with AIDA Cruises. Hamburg will thus be the first port in Europe to be providing an external, environmentally-friendly and low-emission power supply to cruise ships.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a fuel that will enable the heavy fuel oil-powered generators on ships to be switched off during layovers at port. This will prevent the release of toxic emissions. Delivered two years after the start of the project, the LNG Hybrid Barge is equipped with five generators with an overall output of 7.5 MW (50/60 Hz).

These generators will be the first marine classified LNG Caterpillar engines to be delivered to customers. On land, an info bus from Hybrid Port Energy GmbH (the operator of the LNG Hybrid Barge and a subsidiary of Becker Marine Systems) will be accompanying the convoy being towed to Hamburg.

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