Making ships “LNG ready”

Shipowners are supported through all stages of the decision-making process as they prepare to meet the IMO air emission regulations entering into force from 2015. There are three technology options for meeting Emission Control Area (ECA) requirements: installing a scrubber, switching to low sulphur fuel oil or to go for LNG as fuel and installing gas engines. Alternative fuels such as methanol and biofuels are also being developed.
DNV believes LNG will be a good solution for many for meeting both SOx and NOx requirements. However, the right option will depend on the shipowner’s time horizon, according to DNV. A wrong technical decision could increase the cumulative cost of operation by millions of US dollars over the ship’s lifetime.