Published by ABB Marine, March 2007

A new era in ship propulsion:

The first large size (154K) LNG carrier with
electric propulsion is now in operation.
A new era in ship propulsion has started with the first large
size (154K) LNG carrier with electric propulsion entering into
operation.
The breakthrough came in 2003 when ABB was awarded
the contract to supply electric propulsion systems for two
154,000m3 LNG carriers ordered from France for Gaz de
France (Provalys) and NYK Line/Gaz de France (Gaselys).
These ships would be the first big-size LNG carriers
to take advantage of electric propulsion with a dual-fuel

1100 kW

1100 kW

5500 kW

6,6 kV, 60Hz

6,6 kV, 60Hz

440V Ballast Bow

Pump Thruster

M M M M M
Cargo Pump LD

440V

1-4

Ballast Ballast 440V

Pump Pump

diesel electric (DFDE) engine concept, and the LNG market

has awaited operational experience for LNG vessels with
DF Electrical Propulsion System. Figure 1 shows the ABB
Electrical propulsion system for a typical LNG carrier.

1100 kW

M
HD

Comp Comp

HD

LD

Cargo Pump

Comp Comp

Figure 1. Configuration of ABB

LNGC Electrical Propulsion.

Gaz de France Provalys.

5-8

440V

Published by ABB Marine, March 2007

y change
and the dual fuel engines ma
e if the
from gas mode to diesel mod
fluctuations are too great.
In POWER mode the ABB
propulsion system will give a constant
load to the electrical networkand
ensure the total stable operation of
the DF engines in gas mode.This
is achieved by the fast DTC control
of the ABB ACS6000 frequency
converter, with a torque response time
less than 3 ms. In this mode the RPM
will be allowed to fluctuate according
to the propeller loading condition.
Figure 1 shows the real-time
trial
curves from the Provalys gasfor the Power, Torque and RPM of
one propulsion motor during the
endurance test of one LNG carrier at
100% load. As shown in thisfigure, the
electric power consumed bythe ABB
propulsion drive system is constant.
ectric
Another feature of ABB el
propulsion is the crash stop sequence.
During a crash stop, the propulsion
motor will operate as an electric brake
for a short time, feeding power from
the propeller to the converter. This
reverse power will be consumed in a
separate braking resistor, and with the
ABB Electrical Propulsion System the
emely
propeller can be stopped extr
fast, and from the real test on Provalys
presented in Figure 2, it can be seen
that the propeller was stopped within
he ABB Electric Propulsion System in ABB Marine, but the fast
pped
20DTC
seconds. The ship was sto
within 7 minutes, and the Dual-Fuel
control of the ABB ACS6000
onboard Provalys implementing ABBs
engines were operating in gas-mode
frequency converter enables smooth
ACS6000 Frequency Converters with
during the whole crash stop sequence.
and trouble-free operation of the vessel
Direct Torque Control (DTC) has
With the successful delivery of
in any fuel mode.
proven during both sea and gas trial
the Electrical Propulsion system on
The advantages of ABB Electrical
to fulfill and exceed the expectations
Provalys, ABB has confirmed its
Propulsion Systems were demonstrated
and customer requirements for it.
position as the leading supplier for
during
the sea-trials
of had
the Provalys
The ABB Electric Propulsion system
electrical power and propulsion systems
Vessel. Gaz
de France
a
for LNG carriers, with systems for
showed excellent performance during
requirement to operate the vessels
some thirty LNG carriers already
the sea-trials, especially when in
only on gas, and to minimize the
delivered and nearly thirty on order.
operation in constant power mode,
use of MDO. To meet this
We are only using standard and
and during the crash stop test. ABB
requirement, the ABB propulsion
well
proven ABB equipment in our
Electric Propulsion System has been
concept for the
systems,
and all equipment in an ABB
well proven in other ship types for
LNG vessel has two different
LNG
Electric
Propulsion package is
more than 20 years, although the
operation principles available:
manufactures
and
engineered by
introduction of dual-fuel engines puts

SPEED mode: The propeller

ABB,
says
Rune
A.
Lysebo, Vice
additional demands on the propulsion
RPM is controlled to a constant value
President
Sales
LNG
at ABB Marine,
system compared to other ship types
given by the bridge lever.
and
with
our
worldwide
service
with electric propulsion.
POWER mode: The propeller
capabilities
we
can
offer
a
total product
Operation in Gas-Mode gives
power is controlled to a constant
both
yards
and
owners
have
found
higher sensitivity to load variations
value given by the bridge lever.
attractive.
compared to running in HFO or
In SPEED mode the propeller
Dual-fuel diesel engines producing
MDO mode, says Jan-Fredrik
power will fluctuate dependent on the
electricity
for the ships propulsion,
Hansen, Technical Adviser LNG
weather situation and/or ship turning,
pumps and other consumers is

Published by ABB Marine, March 2007

INTERVIEW with
Dominique Ndelka,
Shipping Manager,
Gas de France
What is your impression/experience of
ABBs workmanship during
engineering, commissioning (ABB
General Performance towards Owner)
and General Performance towards
GDF?
Gaz de France Energy did not
originally use ABBs equipment,
therefore when Chantiers de
LAtlantique suggested ABB for the
vessel Provalys, our first reaction was
that we were
surprised at the change of supplier, and in
this context we were very cautious.
We made a thorough study of the
proposal to understand the reasons
behind the change, i.e. economic
costs.
It was discovered in fact that ABB was
chosen due to its ability to supply the
more powerful propulsion equipment
for Provalys, given her size, and that the
previous suppliers technology was at its
limit and would have had to significantly
increase their equipment. ABB offered
the equipment as standard and had
proven technology.
We were convinced ABB was a good
choice, owing to Gaz de France using
this type of equipment elsewhere in
the company our main concern was
about the frequency converters which

Power

Negative Braking
Power during crash
stop

The Speed ramps from

full ahead to zero in
twenty seconds!

RPM

would supply power to the two big

electrical motors driving the propellers.
These converters had been studied in
detail by another service department
of Gaz de France for ground
facilities, so we contacted them and
they came to the meeting with us
and ABB, and
they confirmed that the equipment was
considered safe and ready to be
installed.
What is GDFs opinion of the risk of
the new system (Tank Design and
Dual- Fuel Electrical Propulsion)?
As to risk factors, there are no more
dangers with this type of transport
than other vessels carrying crude, etc.
Regarding the fault discovered in Gaz
de France, Energy, and its tanks, there
has never been any risk of gas leaking, as
the primary membrane was perfectly
tight,
the fault was in fact in the gluing of the
individual layers secondary membrane
inside the tanks. This membrane was
just above the tolerances for the
porosity criteria. This was nothing bad
but just not quite good enough.
With Gaz de France, Energy,
Provalys and Gaselys, we have opted to
use the
boil-off gas for fuel for the diesel
engines. Trials have proved that the
system shows to be more economical
and we hope
to achieve a 35% saving, and of course
reduce emissions by using gas into those
engines instead of a traditional boiler and

The system changes

automatically to Speed Mode
during Crash Stop to get best
response

The speed reaches max

negative rpm (60%), and
negative Torque is reduced to
keep this limit

Power

RPM
Torque

steam turbine propulsion diesel.

What is GDFs opinion of Dual Fuel
Electrical (Operating Cost and Fuel
Cost) compared to Traditional Steam?
We hope to gain a 35% reduction in
operating costs. In sea trials this efficiency
was confirmed, but proper confirmation
will come from its use in long-term
commercial operations, but we are
confident to obtain this kind of figure in
the future.
What is GDFs opinion on Dual Fuel
Electrical Propulsion compared to the
other concept of 2 Stroke with reliquifaction plant?
The two systems are totally different.
We have chosen to use gas for
propulsion, other people have tried to
keep gas for
re-liquifaction and using heavy fuel for
propulsion.
There are several aspects: the
economic and the maintenance and the
ecology aspects. Regarding the ecology
aspect, we find it is less polluting to
burn gas, and our study showed that
re-liquifying the gas was not economical
we are convinced we have made the
right choice.
In conclusion, we are happy with
the system from ABB and are
looking forward to the benefits in the
coming months and years.

Constant power mode

The Speed is not constant in Power

Mode. At this point the ship is
turning and therefore the speed is
decreasing. The Torque is increasing
to keep a constant Power

Torque

Figure 2. Provalys Propulsion motor power,

RPM and torque at 100% propulsion power

becoming a preferred solution for LNG

carrier owners. Compared to steam
turbines, the propulsion efficiency
is significantly higher, and less fuel
from the cargo is thus needed, and

Figure 3. Propulsion motor power, RPM and

torque at Crash Stop Test.

significant savings can be

achieved.
With diesel-electric machinery the
efficiency when running at lower
power is easily optimized, and high

torque

Published by ABB Marine, March 2007

and operational flexibility is achieved

over the entire rpm rate. Also, when
comparing dual-fuel electric propulsion
(DFEP) with slow speed diesel
propulsion with a reliquifaction plant
(SSDR), the overall efficiency is better for
the DFEP. This is owing to the fact that
the reliquifaction plant has to be run

simultaneously with the propulsion

plant. With DFEP there are fewer

harmful emissions than with steamand slow speed diesel propulsion,
resulting in better environmental
friendliness.
Rune Lysebo
rune.lysebo@no.abb.com

ABB Marine Service Concept

for LNG Carriers
Since 2000, more than 40 steam turbine driven LNG carriers have been
ordered with ABB medium voltage switch gear onboard. On top of that,
more than 20 dual fuel diesel electric LNG carriers have been ordered
with ABB electric propulsion systems. While many of these vessels are
still under construction, ABB Marine Service is already thinking about the
next phase in the life of these vessels.

In todays LNG shipping market

operator margins are under pressure.
Unplanned maintenance costs, as
well
as off-hire due to equipment failure can
quickly send a healthy balance sheet
into disarray. Reactive maintenance,
fixing things when theyve broken
down, simply isnt good enough
anymore. Preventive maintenance
aims to prevent break-downs through
equipment health monitoring and
corrective action whenever required.
Preventive maintenance is the core
of the ABB Marine Service concept.
This Marine Service concept is a
framework of services, designed to
provide the highest availability of the
equipment. It allows vessel operators to
choose precisely those services that best
fit their particular requirements and to
accurately predict their maintenance
cost for the years to come. In close
cooperation with the operator the
equipment maintenance tasks are
divided between ABB and the crew
onboard the vessel. This division of
labor also determines the frequency of
ABB service personnel visits onboard.
To ensure safe operation and
maintenance of the equipment, ABB
provides a number of equipment
specific crew training courses through
the ABB Marine Academy. In their
day-to-day maintenance activities
onboard the crew is supported by
eMST, the electronic Maintenance
Support Tool. This computer based
interface coaches the crew through
each maintenance activity using video
footage and pictures of the actual
equipment, together with step by
step descriptions. It also provides a
direct link to the relevant pages in the
equipment manual.

The preventive maintenance

program can be further enhanced by
the addition of remote diagnostics.
Remote diagnostics allows the ABB
to check the health status and the
performance of the equipment online.
The service concept was originally
developed by Craig Muirhead of
the ABB Marine Service Center in
Aberdeen for his UK
It
customers. proved so successful ow
that it has n been expanded forobal
use in the gl service network. ne
The ABB Mari Service Networke than
consists of mor
arine
250 service professionals in 16 m
service centers around the world,
ce
providing round-the-clock serviing
to the international LNG shipp
community.
Alexander
Harsema-Mensonides
alexander.harsema@n
o.abb.com