'Emerald', a Midsize concept bulk carrier of 35,000 dwt, designed jointly by Bestway Marine Engineering Design of Shanghai and classification society Lloyds Register, bettered by 18% existing performance of standard bulk carriers as measured by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) 'Energy Efficient Design Index' (EEDI) according to the project leaders' announcement on 1, February 2011.It may be helpful to explain briefly 'EEDI', since it provided base measure for the  'Emerald' design team's work, and an associated new regulatory development also seems worth mentioning here.Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI)EEDI relates to efforts by IMO to limit global warming through pollution of the environment by marine engines, allowing a specific figure for an individual ship design to be calculated by means of a fairly complex formula. It is expressed in grams of CO2 per ship's capacity-mile, and a smaller EEDI value indicates a more energy-efficient ship design. The far more co... [More]

Dual-fuel marine diesel engines are increasingly being fitted to new-buildings where twin benefits of negligible noxious gas emissions (thanks to squeaky-clean combustion) and  economical performance come to bear when the engine operates in LNG mode. Indeed analysts are agreed that it is only the sparse availability of LNG bunkering facilities world-wide that limits installation of far greater numbers of dual-fuel systems at a time when prices for oil fuels are uncertain, and when environmental regulations are becoming increasingly stringent. For vessels with ready access to LNG as a fuel source, there has been a natural progression in the fitting of dual-fuel engines, beginning with large LNG carriers themselves using boil-off cargo gas when loaded.  Now that progression has extended to include far smaller ships (with a no less an important role in drilling operations) which also have ready access to the fuel  – LNG Platform Supply Vessels (PSV's). PSV's in the... [More]