Friuli Venezia Giulia offers lessons in sustainable navigation

(Rinnovabili.it) – Saving the environment becomes compatible with saving money also for the naval sector. This has been demonstrated by NGShiP, the research project carried out thanks to the outstanding skills of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region. Coordinated by Wärtsilä Italia and comprising the University of Trieste and Udine, AREA Science Park and a number of companies in the sector, the aim of the project was to carry out the first feasibility study into the use of liquefied natural gas to run cargo ships over long distances. “The use of LNG brings undoubted advantages – the researchers explain – in terms both of emissions and of savings, considering that the cost is lower than for traditional fuels, and is destined to fall even further”. The figures bear this out: the use of gas, combined with a number of smart system solutions, has made it possible to show that ship running costs can be cut by up to 40% compared to the use of low-sulphur-content fuels. The innovations introduced by the project have provided for the installation of an independent atmospheric tank able to allow for the storage of large quantities of LNG, and the use of boil-off gas to produce electricity by means of fuel cells.