In the case of Abel Matutes, the gas tank is installed on the top deck in the open air, with the genset in an engine enclosure.
The Rolls-Royce bunkering station is at Deck 3 level, so the connecting pipework provided by local suppliers involved close liaison with the authorities and classification society to ensure that all safety requirements were met.
Our lean-burn gas engine technology is the key. The C26:33LAG is the model used in the Harbour power system. This engine design has very low exhaust emissions and a high efficiency – more than 50 per cent of the energy in the fuel is converted to electrical energy, an exceptionally high figure.
Apart from the automatic reduction in CO2 emissions because less fuel is consumed and natural gas intrinsically has a low carbon content compared with marine oil fuels, the lean-burn gas engine technology cuts other emissions dramatically.
Of greater interest in harbour, especially where the port is also near residential districts, is that smoke and soot are negligible, the fuel is free of sulphur, and NOx emissions are greatly reduced, all matters of importance in improving local air quality. The C-series engine is clean burning, so particulate matter is also practically eliminated.