A diesel-electric hybrid power and propulsion contract for an unusual catamaran dive support vessel (DSV) has been won by Canada-based Aspin Kemp & Associates (AKA) who solved the owner’s quest for a system that would operate at peak efficiency while ensuring that safety and redundancy measures were in place.  Australia’s Bhagwan Marine’s 56-m DSV was designed by Incat Crowther, also in Australia, and is to be built at the Keppel Singmarine shipyard in Singapore. Multi-purpose Dive Support Vesse: Image courtesy of Incat Crowther Now, here’s a Swiss Army knife of an offshore vessel if ever there was one, designed from the keel up to perform six key roles: dive support, geophysical survey, geotechnical survey, cargo transport, hyperbaric rescue and safety standby. Such varied roles demand a multitude of propulsion responses, including liberal idle times while under way, and AKA’s ‘Duty-cycle analysis’ with its XeroPoint Hybrid system see... [More]

Reborn J-class yacht Rainbow will compete against three others later this month in a class-dedicated Falmouth, UK, sailing regatta. What’s so unusual about this big 140-ft yacht is its hybrid propulsion and power system, as we shall see. First though, the design concept. J-class Superyacht Rainbow: Photo courtesy of Holland JachtbouwThe classic yacht was launched earlier this year from Holland Jachtbouw’s yard in The Netherlands, based upon the lines of the original 1934 America’s Cup winner.The project’s naval architects Dykstra & Partners also partnered with deVosdeVries design on the interior. The original Rainbow (scrapped in 1940) was drawn by William Starling Burgees in the early 1930s whose design has now been incorporated into an all-aluminium yacht that meets the J-class Association maximum performance rules. The first Rainbow, a thoroughbred racing yacht had no engine room so there was not a great deal of space to accommodate one within the l... [More]

GE is offering hybrid propulsion systems for military and commercial applications based on its LM series gas turbines using electric motors and drives, to reduce noise and emissions through improved fuel economy. GE has a wide experience of hybrid systems, acting as systems integrator, GE is able to team with other industry suppliers to provide all electric propulsion solutions. A particularly successful combination with gas turbines is the CODAG or CODOG arrangement where diesel engines are employed at low output with the gas turbine(s) only used to produce boost power. As the cost of fuel increases, such solutions are not limited to newbuilds, repowering of existing vessels can also provide tangible financial benefits. In the future wider use of fuel cells can replace diesel engines to provide further reductions in exhaust, noise and vibration emissions. [More]

Italian shipyard Cantieri Navali Megaride is constructing an offshore supply vessel (OSV) Guardia Costiera. The vessel has a LOA of 65 m and beam of 12 m, and is designed by Errenavi, Rome to RINA classification society rules and features a CODLOD hybrid propulsion system provided by Siemens Siship EcoProp. A two shaft propulsion arrangement uses Caterpillar 3512C main diesel engines each driving a ZF 9300 PTI transmission with Siemens180 kW electric motors Electrical power is supplied by four Caterpillar C18 gensets each of 275 kW output. [More]

Research and development applied to Lithium-ion batteries (increasingly used as 'energy storage banks' in hybrid marine powered propulsion systems in workboats and leisure craft due to their high energy density) has recently revealed ways to make these batteries safer, cheaper yet with better performance. The relevant research findings come from John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and from Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). Lithium-ion Battery Bank: Photo US Federal Govt. Inexpensive Sensor Warns of Lithium-ion Battery FailureBattery malfunctions (and occasionally fires) occur in all Lithium-ion powered applications ranging in size from the cellphone right through to large hybrid or electrically powered plant and present a safety challenge to manufacturers. Typically such catastrophic failures result from ‘thermal runaway', which occurs when a cell in the battery reaches a critical temperature. Searching ... [More]

At the recent Ft Lauderdale Boat Show, Northern Lights Inc, manufacturers of generators and Lugger brand diesels announced a hybrid propulsion system. It combines their long standing expertise in marine generator design with BAE Systems’ HybriDrive technology, used with considerable success in commercial motor vehicles in several countries. Currently in service in over 3,500 applications worldwide, the HybriDrive system uses a Propulsion Control System (PCS) to direct power produced from the generator(s) for immediate use, or hold it in an Energy Storage System (ESS) - a special battery pack, to later provide emission free and silent power from the electric propulsion motor. The system is applicable to sailing yachts as well as motor yachts. The electric propulsion motor can also operate as a generator to charge the ESS by harnessing the energy of a “windmilling” propeller. [More]

A Dutch company Fast RSQ is offering an emission friendly and noiseless solution at low speed for operators of rescue vessels at sea or in harbours. The company offers a 22 ft (7.2 m) rescue craft with a hybrid propulsion system for. The seawater resistant aluminum hulled boat has an LOA of 7.2 m and beam of 2.65m and weighs 2.2 t empty with fuel and inventory: with a full load of 15 persons weighs approximately 3.4 tons. The Steyr Hybrid Propulsion system comprises a 6 cylinder 3.2 liter Steyr diesel with an Alamarin 230 water jet providing a maximum speed of 34 kn with a three man crew. On electric drive there the top speed is 6 kn. Control of the total hybrid system is effected by the fully automatic Steyr Control Center [More]

The hybrid research vessel project of the University of Victoria, British Columbia, will lengthen the original hull by 21.6 ft (6.6 m) giving a new LOA of 125 ft (38.2 m). To lower emissions and enable acoustic measurements, a new hybrid electric propulsion system is specified consisting of twin 200 kW electric azimuth thrusters plus a single bow thruster. Electric power can be supplied by a 232 kWh lithium battery bank, diesel gensets of 215 kW or a Ballard fuel cell operating on hydrogen. BMT Fleet Technology, of Ottawa, Canada is collaborating with the University of Victoria in the design, Tactical Marine Solutions Ltd., BC, provide ship management services for the University and is responsible for the delivery of the converted ship.and delivery: the refit is expected to take several months. [More]

Resulting from a cooperation of the French STX Europe and Stirling Design International, a radical new concept for a cruise ship called EOSEAS was developed. EOSEAS is a cruise ship of 105,000 dwt: Electric power is provided by four dual fuel LNG diesel electric gensets each of 8 MW, supplemented by photovoltaic panels on side and upper deck. There are four screws, two pump propellers with shaft lines on the outriggers and two pump propellers on the main hull. The design claims to have met its objective of reducing green house gas (GHG) emissions by 50 per cent, the reduction in CO2 was aimed at 50 per cent but is expected to be 52 per cent [More]

Hornblower Hybrid - Quietly exceeding expectations An interview with Christopher Beck, port engineer for Alcatraz Cruises in San Francisco, about the company’s Hornblower Hybrid vessel   By Edward Lundquist   What makes the Hornblower Hybrid a “hybrid?”   We use a combination of diesel‐powered Tier 2 generators, electric motors, wind turbines and photo voltaic solar panels to charge batteries that provide power to all the functions of the vessel, including navigation systems, lighting, monitors and the variable frequency drive that controls the motors.   What kind of power systems does it have?   It has two Series 60 MTU Tier 2 diesel engines powering two Marathon 320 KW generators that provide power to two Yoskawa variable frequency drives, which control the output of two 400 HP electric motors connected directly to
 conventional propellers.  It also has a 380 V DC Battery bank that allows for a zero emission mode. ... [More]