Kawasaki Heavy Industries Completes Delivery of LPG-Powered Gas Carrier

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) has completed the delivery of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and ammonia (NH3) carrier called the “Eneos Gunjo”. The carrier utilizes LPG as a fuel source and offers a load capacity of 86,700m3 for the storage LPG and NH3.

The Eneos Gunjo comes as a new carrier design from KHI with an increased carrying capacity over its predecessor and additional ammonia storage capabilities. The previous design had a capacity of 84,000m3 and could only store, transport, and unload LPG, rather than a dual load of LPG and NH3. Eneos Gunjo is the eighth LPG-powered vessel in the Kawasaki gas carrier fleet and the 72nd KHI carrier in total.

KHI's "Eneos Gunjo" LPG-powered vessel; Image Credits: Kawasaki

The carrier features a series of separate cargo tanks for the simultaneous transportation of both LPG and NH3, while maintaining the principal dimensions of conventional vessels for ease-of-berthing at coastal LPG terminals. KHI’s carrier, despite increased carrying capacity, has a length overall and beam similarity to other carrier vessels in the market.

KHI equipped the carrier with a Kawasaki-MAN B&W 6G60ME-C10.5-LGIP marine diesel engine, capable of full LPG injection and electronically controlled. The utilization of LPG as fuel allows KHI to comply with sulfur oxide (SOx) emission standards and EEDI phase 3 regulations. The ship’s propulsion system is also compliant with nitrogen oxide (NOx) tier III requirements by making use of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR). An EGR and SCR equipped propulsion system enables the Eneos Gunjo to travel in NOx emission control areas (ECAs).

Several fin configurations allow fuel to be consumed at a lower rate: rudder bulb system with fins, semi-duct system with contra fins, and fins deployed in the vicinity of the propeller. A concept design for an ammonia-fueled variant of KHI’s new gas carrier has been approved by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, enabling the possible future integration of ammonia as fuel with alternative design considerations for the ship.