View non-flash version
www.marinelink.com 414March 2013 saw Rolls Royce collect the Green Ship Technology Award at the Green Ship Technology Conference in Hamburg for its Environship concept, which has lean burn Bergen Engines gas power units at it core.The Environship combines a range of Rolls Royce technologies (Bergen En- gines is a subsidiary business) in a cargo ship model that, set against comparable vessels using diesel power engines, offers CO2 reductions of up to 40% (alongside 92% reductions in NOx and 100% less SOx emissions). Stein Ruben Larsen, the Vice Presi- dent of Sales & Marketing (cargo ves- sels), at Rolls Royce in Bergen, believes that the current combination of environ-mental pressures and regulatory require-ments, added to increased LNG bunker availability, will lead to a surge of inter- est in marine gas engines. At present the market is still somewhat in its infancy, with 48 Bergen units currently operating (in 27 vessels), while the Þ rm?s Þ rst ma- rine gas engine recently passed 30,000 running hours. The Environship concept, he says, is a key way to market the beneÞ ts of LNG powered engines in an attractive all-round package. ?This is an impor- tant year for us,? he told Maritime Re-porter; ?there are two deliveries sched-uled, with more contracts expected to be signed ? the latest for a LNG bunkering vessel, which we can?t quite go public with as yet.?The two Environship vessels that will be going public this year are a multi-purpose cargo ship from Tsuji Heavy Industries (Jiangsu) Shipyard, China for Nor Lines (delivery expected in Decem-ber) and a 75m long Þ sh food carrier for Skretting in Norway, which is scheduled to be delivered this month (May). The latter vessel has been built by STX OSV in Brattvåg, Norway. ?It?s a scalable concept that is highly versatile,? Larsen concludes. ?What?s more, it has the best lean burn gas en-gines in the world, produced right here in Bergen.? Rolls-Royce has a Gas with Bergen Enginesthe best possible proÞ tability from their assets ? getting vessels back in the water as quickly as possible.?Acquiring AmbitionsOn the subject of speed, the Þ rm will have to grow fast to meet its self-imposed 2016 objective. The marine segment is its ?bread and butter? division ? accounting for 82% of total turnover in 2012 ? and is a key focus going forwards. However, as it already has a market leading position as a provider of hatch covers, cranes and a variety of RoRo equipment (including doors, car decks and ramps), the Þ rm will be looking to acquisition to give it the extra market share ? a policy facilitated in part by the aforementioned sale of the drilling business last year, which netted TTS a Þ nancial war-chest of $270 mil- lion.?We?ll be looking at Þ rms that can offer us something on the technology front,? Hansen reveals, adding that the Þ rm has a rich history of acquisitions, with 25 companies purchased since 1998. Loca-tion wise, Europe seems to be the target for this activity, but, with a billion Euros in mind, it?s easy to conclude that TTS will go anywhere that it sees the market opportunity. It?s an approach that has been transformational for the equipment design, development and supply special-ist, which now has over 1,100 staff in 13 countries around the world, situated across 25 business units. In 2000 the Þ rm had a presence in just one territory, Norway. Back then it didn?t have to worry about who the Nobel Peace Prize went to, but that is surely a small price to pay for some great big leaps for- ward.Ivar K Hanson, COO, TTS Group MR #5 (34-41).indd 41MR #5 (34-41).indd 415/2/2013 9:47:41 AM5/2/2013 9:47:41 AM
