shipping · marflex electric-drive deepwell pumps have low energy consumption and noise levels, and...

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012 Shipping

&MARinETHE maGazInE for marITImE manaGEmEnT

A NEW COURSEThe world’s first commercial

marine three-dimensional vessel tracking system

COSTING THE EARTHA wave of new environmental legislation is approaching –

what does it mean for shipping?

HIGHER PLATFORMWill Daynes charts the evolution

and looks at potential future uses for the jack-up barge

rescueVESSELThe marine salvage industry works in very difficult and

demanding situations, alongside dealing with increased legislation

36 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk

een Shipping offers oil logistics solutions to all oil companies on the

inland spot charter market. Based in The Netherlands, it is a family-owned and operated company established by Gerard Deen and his wife in 1980 following the purchase of a single inland barge for the transportation of clean oil products. Over the course of 32 years more people joined the company including Gerard’s daughter Joyce, now an office

manager, and son Glenn, who has become a captain in the fleet. Business developer Ed de Jong completes the onshore office team. Today the fleet comprises six ships, five of which are wholly owned by the Deen family; a total crew of 35 seafarers, including Glenn Deen, operates it.

Four years ago, during a conference, Gerard became aware of the changing environmental regulations to be applied by the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR) that would legislate reduced polluting emissions. Recognising early action as the best means of compliance, the managing director set about finding a solution to the issue of diesel engines. He discovered that there are only two viable options for reducing fuel pollution: either to use an after-treatment in the exhaust that purifies the fumes, or to use

D

En route to the

future

www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 37

Profile: Deen Shipping

PSI PIPINGPSI Piping, internationally active in shipping, offshore and industry, has done business with Gerard Deen since it was founded. “We know Gerard Deen as a highly motivated person and an innovative entrepreneur who knows exactly what he wants. Safety, quality and involvement are leading at Deen Shipping. That integrates seamlessly with our method and always results in a perfect partnership”, said Mark Breijer, managing director of Breko / PSI Group.Besides the Alpheus, the Amphiro, the Apollo and the Achilles, PSI Piping supplied all piping systems for the innovative LNG dual fuel powered MTS Argonon to the full satisfaction of both parties.

Profile: Royal Van Lent Shipyard


a cleaner fuel in the first place. Gerard wanted to resolve the problem, not simply remedy it, so chose the latter alternative.

At this time, liquefied natural gas (LNG) began emerging in the market. Gerard sought a company that would work with him in creating an engine capable of running on LNG and discovered Pon Power. Together they developed the world’s first inland dual fuel engine for marine purpose, which is capable of running LNG and diesel on an 80/20 per cent ratio. This was then translated into the engine of a ship: the Argonon.

“Conceiving, designing and building the Argonon took a total of three years; it was baptized on November 25th 2011,” Gerard explains. “It is the world’s first inland barge to run on LNG and the first step toward a solution for the emissions regulations coming into force in 2016. It is a double Y-shaped hull captained by my son Glenn, and is a tanker carrying bunker fuel for seagoing vessels.

It has proved incredibly successful. We believe that an engine that runs on LNG is the solution for the future.”

Gerard’s love for LNG is readily apparent. When asked why the Argonon is not itself 100 per cent LNG, he responds: “There are two key reasons. The first is that there isn’t yet an infrastructure for LNG bunkering in most of the world, meaning a ship has to be able to run solely on another fuel – diesel – if necessary. That was the first problem. The second is that, when running a purely gas engine, the power is lower. Deen Shipping wanted to have the same type of torque we are used to in a 100 per cent diesel engine, and an 80/20 per cent dual fuel engine provides the same experience. The torque is the same and the only difference is the noise: ours runs more smoothly and quietly than standard diesel models.”

Conceived and developed by Deen Shipping and Pon Power, the innovation of the Argonon and its engine led to the vessel’s


nomination in the 2011 Sustainable Shipping Awards for ‘Sustainable Shipping Operator of the Year’. In competition against major shipping lines such as Royal Caribbean, Holland-America Line, and Maersk Line, the panel of judges decided to award Deen Shipping second place only to Maersk Line. A significant achievement for a company with only six ships, and testament to the care Deen Shipping gives to its business.

Care runs throughout the company’s infrastructure, and has been essential in maintaining good business for Deen Shipping throughout the rough market of the last few years. It is particularly keen on financial management, for example, which is important for a company running on the spot market. Crucially, however, the company places great importance on its client relationships, using feedback to inform future decisions.

“The Argonon, for instance, has slightly strange measurements,” says Gerard. “It is 110 metres

long by 16.2 metres wide. This unusual width measurement offers maximum carrying capacity for the ship’s 6060 deadweight tonnage (DWT). To build a barge with the more standard 11.45 metre width measurement would mean it needs to be about 125 to 135 metres in length and this is a issue because terminal jetties are 110 metres long. When other 6060 DWT vessels load / unload at terminals they must use two jetties yet, with the same capacity, the Argonon needs only one jetty meaning the second one can be used. Our ship helps increased efficiency. Innovative solutions are a characteristic of Deen Shipping.”

Consideration and a high quality service have been essential in pushing through the turbulent economic climate over the last few years. Like many other maritime companies, Deen Shipping has faced greater competition for fewer contracts and seen activity reduce as a result. However business has remained steady enough for the company not to



MARFLEXDeen Shipping has chosen the MarFlex electric-drive deepwell pump system for its ship ‘Argonon’. The pumps supplied are: eight electric-drive deepwell cargo pumps, type MDPD-100, each with a capacity of 200 m³/h and eight air-operated stripping pumps. MarFlex supplies intelligent, high-quality systems and services to the marine and offshore markets worldwide, aligned with the customers’ needs and ensuring the lowest possible total cost of ownership. MarFlex electric-drive deepwell pumps have low energy consumption and noise levels, and are easy to install, efficient in maintenance and environmentally friendly.


World greets first LNG-fuelled Lloyd’s Register classed tankerNovember 2011 saw the world’s first new LNG-fuelled tanker being delivered in Rotterdam and classed by Lloyd’s Register

The arrival of Argonon, a 6100 dwt dual-fuelled chemical tanker, is a significant milestone for the Deen Shipping subsidiary, Argonon Shipping, in its pursuit of cleaner transport solutions for Europe. Lloyd’s Register helped the owners and regulators identify their risks, meet regulatory requirements and overcome the technical challenges for the precedent-setting tanker.“This has been a great project and is a significant first,” said Piet Mast, Lloyd’s Register’s Marine business manager for Western Europe. “The nature of inland waterways traffic, which passes through or close to major population centres, makes LNG an attractive way to reduce harmful local emissions. We had to look carefully at the risks and worked closely with the owner and the regulators to ensure that they understood, and were comfortable with, the technical solutions that were developed.”

Clean trading & saving costsLiquefied natural gas (LNG) has been winning a great deal of attention on the back of its low SOx, NOx and particulate emissions. But there are key technical and operational challenges to be overcome before its widespread use is possible.The dual-fuel system on the Argonon is designed to burn an 80/20 mixture of natural gas and diesel, reducing SOxx, NOxx and particulate-matter emissions, as well as reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from tank to flue. Significant fuel savings have been achieved by Deen Shipping through the use of this system. For several years now, Lloyd’s Register has developed and maintained Rules and Regulations for the use of LNG as fuel on seagoing and inland waterway ships. These Rules and Regulations are closely linked to the applicable international regulations developed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and are continuously reviewed through feedback from the industry.“The inland shipping industry, as far as we know, is the safest and cleanest mode of transport. But, to keep this lead, we have to take a big step forward in environmental performance,” said shipowner Gerard Deen. “I think that the dual-fuel principle is a way to reduce the emissions in our sector. Lloyd’s Register were very pragmatic in their approach to finding solutions to convert seagoing regulations into inland shipping rules regarding dual fuel.”Along with Lloyd’s Register, the Netherlands Shipping Inspectorate approved the vessel’s LNG system for operation in the Netherlands and the ship has been operating successfully ever since the delivery. Lloyd’s Register co-ordinated the effort required to secure the regulatory approvals from the Central Commission for Navigating on the Rhine and the UN-ECE ADN Safety Committee where they represent the International Association of Classification Societies. The next step is to secure the regulatory approvals to open the way for navigation beyond the Netherlands. “The owners are to be congratulated for being pioneers,” said Piet. “At Lloyd’s Register, we have been involved with LNG for a long time, so were able to provide support through the plan-approval and construction processes. We now look forward to supporting the ship through many years of ‘clean’ trading.” “We are currently providing technical and regulatory guidance for 20 confirmed or proposed inland waterway applications that intend to use LNG as fuel,” said Bas Joormann, Lloyd’s Register’s West European Area Inland Waterway product manager. “There is a lot of interest, and for good reason. Inland waterways, like ferries in emission-control areas, are very suitable for LNG. But the regulatory regime is different. We’re helping owners and governmental bodies to identify the risks and manage them to at least the level of safety provided by the existing fuel-management and combustion requirements.”


struggle and puts this largely down to the technological evolution of the Argonon. The environmental perspective it offers on the future of inland barge operation has attracted the attention of the market.

Building on its success, Deen Shipping is now looking at expanding the LNG credentials of its entire fleet by retrofitting its other four owned vessels with dual fuel engines. Due to the workload experienced in getting the Argonon approved under CCNR and the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN) regulations, this upgrade project is currently just at the conceptual stage but is a defined goal in order for the entire company to meet the EU’s new environmental regulations in 2016.

Concluding, Gerard emphasises how important this is for Deen Shipping: “LNG is the fuel of the future. There isn’t much business development around it in most of the world yet but we believe



that will change in the coming years. We are involved in several projects with colleagues of ours to share our own knowledge of LNG applications, including in newbuilding and retrofit ships,

and are becoming involved in the supply chain as well. In this way we are helping to develop the market and become a crucial part of Europe’s future LNG infrastructure.” v

Deen Shippingwww.deenshipping.com


• World’s first dual fuel barge• Innovative technology• Small but strong organisation

BAAN AligNmeNt & eNgiNeeriNg

For a small company like BAAN Alignment & Engineering, it’s a

privilege to get involved with a project like the

MTS ARGONON. The job, alignment and supporting

of the propulsion units are no different than all

other vessels worked on by BAAN Alignment

and Engineering, but the commercial interest and attention offers the

opportunity to show its skills to the world.

Furthermore BAAN has found it a pleasure to

have been involved with this Deen Shipping

project.

shipping · marflex electric-drive deepwell pumps have low energy consumption and noise levels, and...

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