Ed Harland and Jonathan Strachan (pictured) delivered a paper on the use of LNG as yacht fuel at the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) ‘Design and Construction of Super and Mega Yachts.’ event in Genoa, Italy in May 2017.  The event was well attended by a range of industry professionals from across the industry.

The presentation covered the key benefits and challenges of using of LNG as a fuel in yachts. It drew heavily on Houlder’s recent experience undertaking the class level design of the UK’s first LNG powered ROPax ferry.

LNG is a clean fuel that does not generate particulates as with Diesel exhaust.  This will offer a much improved environment performance for yacht designs and dramatically reduce the cleaning burden on crew.  Additionally, LNG as yacht fuel offers a cold sink that can dramatically reduce HVAC loading.

There are challenges with using LNG that are mitigated by the introduction of the IGF code LNG fuelled ships.  The implications of designing to this code and the additional systems that are required were discussed along with the lessons learnt from recent projects.

Other challenges with using LNG as yacht fuel is roll out of an effective supply chain.  This has been slowed by the low oil price.  In the short term LNG is delivered using road tankers to bunker ships.  Due to the limited capacity and transfer rates achievable with road tankers, this is considered to be a short term solution, however it will enable the operation of smaller LNG vessels until more local infrastructure or suitable bunker vessels are available.

LNG is being taken up across the marine industry and it is considered to be only a matter of time before super and mega yacht operators take advantage of this clean fuel.

You can read more about the event here.