Finnish technology group Wärtsilä has successfully completed the conversion of one engine on each of three LNG carriers operated by Chevron Transport Corporation from dual-fuel (DF) operation to a spark-ignited gas (SG) configuration.
Sea-news.az reports that the primary objective of the retrofit project is to mitigate unburned methane emissions (methane slip) released during the combustion of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Under the upgraded system, fuel ignition is initiated via an electronically controlled spark plug rather than relying on a diesel pilot fuel injection. Beyond curbing methane slip, this technology enhances overall engine operational efficiency.
According to calculations by Wärtsilä, the methane slip ratio relative to fuel consumption on the converted engines drops to 1.1 percent based on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) E2 test cycle weighted average.
Engine conversions for an additional three LNG carriers are scheduled for future execution, bringing the total fleet of retrofitted vessels to six.
