GasChem Homer, the first in a series of three 5,000 cbm dual-fuel ‘eco-friendly’ LPG carriers, was delivered to Hartmann Reederei on Monday (6 December) from the Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering shipyard in China, reports BunkerSpot.
Vessel design
The design of the vessel is based on the ECOSTAR 36k series developed by Hartmann Reederei together with HB Hunte Engineering.
Hartmann said that the GasChem Homer has been designed with a ‘focus on eco-friendliness’ and ‘meets all requirements of the EEDI for the year 2025’.
Dual-fuel main engine
The GasChem Homer is fitted with an MAN 5S35 ME-LGIP dual-fuel main engine that operates on both LPG and MGO.
In LPG mode, the vessel saves about 8% of fuel compared to MGO, with a CO2 emissions reduction of 20%.
Saving emissions and extra calls
Ulrich Adami, Managing Director Technical of Hartmann Reederei, commented: ‘With our ECOSTAR 36k series, we have gained more than 100,000 running hours of experience operating on dual-fuel/gas main engines since 2016. The experience was very challenging in the beginning, but within short time the propulsion on cleaner fuel became normal, saving emissions and, as a bonus, saving additional bunker calls for the charterer.’
Adami continued: ‘For the new 5,000 cbm vessels, we have chosen a two-stroke engine that does not require a gearbox but acts directly on the shaft and propeller without additional energy loss. Together with the charterer the decision was taken to set the focus on environmental aspects – and consequently ban heavy fuel oil from the vessel.’
The GasChem Homer is set to enter into a long-term employment with Origin Energy Australia.
The delivery of the second and third vessel of the series, the GasChem Iliad and GasChem Odyssey, is scheduled for the beginning of 2022 and in spring 2022 respectively and they will also serve Origin Energy.
