​​​​​​​合作案例：壳牌LNGC大型运输船

“志同道合”的航运节能伙伴

2020年，Silverstream和壳牌公司携手合作，在Methane Patricia Camila上安装了Silverstream®系统。Methane Patricia Camila是一艘能够运输17万立方米的大型液化天然气运输船（LNGC），这也是Silverstream首次将系统安装在液化天然气运输船中。

由于自身船体湿表面积比重高的特性，加之货物运输资产的高价值和快速运输的需求，LNGC特别适合安装Silverstream®系统。

在LNGC上，Silverstream®系统能立竿见影地实现节能减排。此外，它还可以用来提高船只的灵活性，在使用相同燃料的情况下提升航行速度。

在这篇文章中，我们将一起探讨壳牌公司在Patricia Camila上成功安装和运行Silverstream®系统的过程。

“渊源已久”的合作关系

2017年，壳牌公司在租用的LNGC船MT Amalienborg上安装了第一套Silverstream®系统。

正是这个“初号任务”推进了Silverstream和壳牌之间的多项航运可行性研究，以更深入地探索Silverstream®系统如何适用于液化天然气运输船。在当时， Patricia Camila就被认为是应用该系统的最佳候选“人”。

在项目实施期间，项目团队为整体工程设定了几个关键时间节点，但由于新冠疫情的爆发，计划不得不进行调整。Silverstream团队的主要工作重点是确保安装工作仍能在常规的、既定的干坞期和预算范围内进行，并按时进行调试测试和技术验证。

在Silverstream团队、壳牌公司和船厂的共同努力下，Silverstream®系统在新加坡Sembcorp Marine Admiralty船厂成功完成安装，全程耗时37天。Silverstream技术团队在靠近船首机械装置的有限空间内安装了8个压缩机，在船底安装了16组空气释放装置。总共约680米的管道被安装在了船体压缩机和空气释放装置之间。

受到新冠疫情的影响，Silverstream的服务工程师无法在安装完成后与该船一起航行，对此，他们为船员提供了专业培训，以确保船员们能够在船只离开新加坡后的几次航行中完成对系统的调试和测试。这是对我们的一次考验——但对于未来长期的调试与测试流程来说，我们从中学到了很多。

2021年2月，在一次由泰国驶向澳大利亚的航行中，技术团队在压载条件下进行了航行性能测试。根据测试结果，Silverstream公司和壳牌的工程师得出结论：Silverstream®系统能为航行减少了6.6%的燃料净消耗。

之后，在Methane Patricia Camila号正常作业期间，又以不同的航速进行了多次测试，以此测算Silverstream®系统能够实现的燃料和排放节省量

未来不止于此

Silverstream®系统被成功安装在Methane Patricia Camila上具有长足深远的重要意义。

首先，它证明了空气润滑技术在液化天然气船领域的可行性，并直接激发了行业对在液化天然气船舶上使用Silverstream清洁技术的热情。

其次，它验证了此类合作是行之有效的。与壳牌公司的密切合作给Silverstream®系统带来了一份强力“背书”，为该系统在未来实现更广泛的合作铺平了道路。更可喜的是，此次安装项目还赢得了两个重要奖项：英国皇家造船工程师学会QinetiQ海事创新奖和工程师协作创新奖外卡奖。

最重要的是，尽管新冠疫情期间给我们的项目带来了诸多挑战，但它也证明了Silverstream®系统强大的供应链体系和灵活的安装流程。Silverstream团队为自己在该项目上的亮眼技术表现感到自豪，并期待未来与壳牌公司在其他项目以及更广泛的液化天然气船领域展开更多合作。

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Installation case study: Methane Patricia Camila

Partnership to scale energy efficiency technologies in shipping

In 2020, Silverstream Technologies and Shell installed the Silverstream® System on the Methane Patricia Camila; a 170,000 cbm liquefied natural gas carrier (LNGC). This was the first time Silverstream had installed our system in the LNG segment.

LNGCs are particularly well suited to the Silverstream® System because of the high value of the asset and the requirement to transport cargo to its destination quickly; plus their large flat bottom to wetted hull surface area ratio.

On LNGCs, the Silverstream® System can enable an immediately measurable fuel and emissions saving. However, it can also be used to improve the flexibility of the vessel, allowing them to steam faster for the same fuel burn.

In this blog, we want to explore the process undertaken with Shell to get the system successfully installed and operating on Methane Patricia Camila.

A long partnership

Silverstream and Shell began working together in 2015, and it was on one of Shell’s chartered LNG carriers – the MT Amalienborg – that the first Silverstream® System was installed in 2017.

This initial project led to several feasibility studies between Silverstream and Shell that explored how we might be able to adapt and deploy our technology on LNG carriers. The Methane Patricia Camila was chosen as a perfect candidate for a retrofit installation.

During the project we set several key targets and had to adapt the process due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The key focus for the Silverstream team was to ensure that the installation could still take place during a normal, scheduled dry-docking period and on budget – and that the testing period to commission and verify the technology could be maintained.

Thanks to the hard work of our team, Shell and the shipyard, the installation was completed successfully within the 37-day dry-docking period at Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Shipyard in Singapore. We installed eight compressors in a machinery space towards the bow of the vessel and 16 ARUs in the bottom of the hull. In total, about 680m of piping was installed in the ship between the compressors and the ARUs.

As COVID-19 restrictions prevented Silverstream’s service engineers from sailing with the vessel, we instead provided training to the crew to enable them to complete commissioning and testing of the system on several voyages after departing from Singapore. This was a test for our process – but one that has paid dividends in terms of our long-term approach to commissioning and technology verification.

In February 2021, sea trial performance testing was conducted in the ballast condition on a voyage between Thailand and Australia.

Following this operational testing, Silverstream’s and Shell’s engineers demonstrated 6.6% net savings generated by the Silverstream® System. The technology was tested at various vessel speeds during Methane Patricia Camila’s normal operations, to calculate fuel and emissions savings.

What it means

The installation of the Silverstream® System on Methane Patricia Camila is significant for several reasons. Firstly, it proves the viability of air lubrication in the LNG segment, and it has directly led to more interest in installing our technology on LNG vessels.

Secondly, it validates our partnership approach – working closely with Shell made this project run extremely smoothly despite the wider context. Indeed, we have won two awards for this installation; the Royal Institution of Naval Architects QinetiQ Maritime Innovation Award, and The Engineer’s Collaborate to Innovate Wildcard Award.

Most importantly, it also proved the resilience of our supply chain and processes despite installing the technology during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are proud of the performance of our technology on Methane Patricia Camila and look forward to working closely with Shell on other projects – as well as with the wider LNG segment – in the future.