South Korea’s top shipyards are busy developing the next generation of VLCC designs. At yesterday’s Nor-Shipping exhibition on the outskirts of Oslo, Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) was awarded an approval in principle from British class society Lloyd’s Register for a novel LNG-fuelled VLCC design, which comes equipped with rotor sails and an air lubrication system. The tanker, dubbed VLCC2020, is fitted with a 6,000 cu m LNG fuel storage tank, a two-stroke dual-fuel diesel engine and an LNG fuel supply system. The ship also features SAVER Air, an SHI-patented air lubrication system, and Norsepower’s rotor sail solution.
SHI’s new VLCC design is estimated to reduce approximately 25% of CO2 emissions and 99% of sulphur oxides, compared to conventional VLCC design.
At the same exhibition a day prior, Lloyd’s Register also presented South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) with approval in principle for a VLCC eco-tanker design, capable of using a combination of volatile organic compounds (VOC) mixed with LNG as fuel and Norsepower’s rotor sail solution.
