Wärtsilä has secured a contract from South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) to deliver a combined inert gas generator and gas combustion unit for a pair of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers being built for Canada-based Teekay.
Wärtsilä, in cooperation with the South Korean shipbuilder, has developed the concept of combining its inert gas generator with a gas combustion unit to form an integrated solution.
The combined system is intended to burn the boil-off gas using an already existing Wärtsilä Moss inert gas generator in order to reduce the need for a conventional gas combustion unit.
Wärtsilä expects to start delivery of the equipment to the DSME shipyard in the third quarter of 2014.
Teekay’s new 173,400m³ LNG carriers will be used to transport natural gas from the US using the expanded Panama Canal.
Wärtsilä said inert gas generator systems will help in avoiding the mixture of gas in cargo tanks from reaching a range where explosions could occur.
Inert gas helps keep the oxygen content of the tank atmosphere below 8%, making the air and hydrocarbon gas mixture too lean to ignite.
Nitrogen generators are used to supply dry air and oil-free inert gas for purging, pressurising and blanketing functions.
Image: Wärtsilä’s combined gas systems to be equipped on Teekay’s two LNG carriers will reduce the need for a conventional gas combustion unit. Photo: Wärtsilä.
