Page 27 - Damen Shipyards Group

26 SUSTAINABILITY SPECIAL 27

IMO TIER III For Damen, the IMO Tier III NO regulations represent a significant move
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towards cleaner and greener operations. Improving air quality in harbours
is an important issue, especially when taking their proximity to urban
locations into account. Damen has a large number of tug-owning clients
in the North Sea and Baltic Sea Emission Control Areas. Therefore the
READY FOR “We started brainstorming sessions on this subject back in 2012,” says
significance of IMO Tier III cannot be overestimated.

Jeffrey Jacobs, Technical Manager Tugs. “Looking for the best NO
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emission reduction systems on the market, we had technical challenges and
THE FUTURE exhaust emission reduction system with our engine silencers. To support
space was one of the limiting factors. Therefore we needed to combine an
our Damen philosophy by giving our customers the opportunity to choose
a green product with short delivery times, or deciding to easily upgrade
their vessels when needed, we set another requirement which was difficult
to meet.
“Being able to meet these tough requirements and provide our clients with
the standard, reliable, robust and Damen-quality products, suitable for
multiple marine diesel engines, we decided to develop our own Damen
after-treatment systems.”

Explained IMO Tier III 80% reductions
With this decision a Damen After-Treatment Team was established. Its first
assignment was to develop a NO reduction system for the new generation
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of Tugs: the ASD Tug 3212, ASD Tug 2813, ASD Tug 2811, ASD Tug
The International Maritime Organization’s regulations
regarding nitrogen oxide emissions have got steadily stricter 2312 and RSD Tug 2513. This involved partnering with after-treatment
over the last two decades. This started with the so-called company Emigreen, he adds. “This partnership joins twenty years of
IMO Tier 1 controls in 2000, and continued with IMO Tier II knowledge, R&D and experience of after-treatment systems with 90 years
in 2011. IMO Tier III entered force in 2016, but only in North of experience of designing and building vessels.”
American and US Caribbean waters. For the European market,
Tier III regulations will come into effect in the North Sea and The cooperation with Emigreen was fruitful, leading to an in-house
Baltic Sea Emission Control Areas from 1 January 2021. This designed and developed system which has been tested on multiple test
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means that all vessels with an engine output greater than 130 benches. “The resulting Damen Marine NO reduction system is a fully
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kilowatts, with a keel-laying date after 2016 for US waters and certified and type approved IMO Tier III system, reducing NO emissions
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2021 for North Sea and Baltic Sea waters entering these areas by 80% compared with IMO Tier II requirements.”
must comply with IMO Tier III regulations.
Plug and play
For owners of Damen’s new generation of tugs wanting to switch to IMO
Tier III, the process will be straightforward. “You can compare it to what we
have been doing for years with firefighting systems. We prepare the vessel
Explained NO reduction as much as possible and then can install the optional equipment within a
matter of weeks – a plug and play technique.”
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The Damen Marine NO reduction system is an advanced active Damen’s extensive preparations for NO regulations have paid off: “We
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emissions control system using SCR (selective catalytic reduction) are showing the maritime market that we are ready for this sustainable
technology for NO reductions up to emissions standards change. The first projects have been successfully developed, tested and
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according to IMO Tier III, suitable for marine diesel engines and delivered to our customers.” The Damen After-Treatment Team is currently
fuels. It has been designed and optimised for the specific sailing expanding its product portfolio to provide the numerous Damen Business
profile of a vessel, and is able to operate on both high and low Units with the best technical solutions for NO reduction systems.
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loads in ambient conditions from -30⁰C up to 45⁰C. Its robust
design is suitable for high sulphur fuels (DMA ISO 8217:2017) These can even be combined with soot reduction technology to comply
capable of using both automotive (AUS32) and marine quality with the new Euro Stage V requirements. “These are fit-for-purpose,”
urea (AUS40). Combined with 45dB(A) silencers, the system limits concludes Jeffrey. “And take into account the operational profile and
the emissions of NO and noise, thus contributing to a healthier specific requirements of the variety of vessels, while keeping our standard
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and more sustainable environment. product approach.”