UK-based Newport Shipping has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Zhejiang Energy Marine Environmental Technology (ZEME) in China that aims to further broaden the company’s ability to offer environmental retrofit solutions to customers in the shipping industry. ZEME offers a range of environmental solutions including scrubbers, methanol fuel and alternative marine power (AMP) technology. The agreement is expected to be mutually beneficial with Newport Shipping providing a full project management service and access to its 16 partner yards across the globe for retrofit projects. This will help ZEME grow its own market overseas while Newport will gain valuable market leads.
Newport Shipping managing director Lianghui Xia states: “The cooperation with ZEME will be focused on the retrofitting side of the business, and the primary market will be outside of mainland China. Newport will focus on product integration and retrofit execution through our commercial and yard network, and we will also act as the after-sales agent for ZEME outside of China.”
As shipowners look to cut emissions one of the offerings that Newport believes will be of particular interest will be the ZEME AMP unit, which is designed to help vessels operate in locations that require them to be connected to shore-based power whilst in port. Methanol fuel systems also represent an offering that Newport Shipping will be exploring with ZEME. The state-owned Chinese company also produces scrubbers, adding a further retrofit solution to Newport’s portfolio. ZEME has sold around 450 scrubbers to major maritime players over the past five years and last year took an estimated 25% share of scrubber retrofitting projects completed worldwide.
Reflecting its commitment to environmental retrofitting, Newport continues to market its own LNG retrofit solutions, allowing vessels to run in dual fuel mode and can offer LNG retrofits for bulk carriers, tankers and containerships. While interest in the concept is increasing the company is yet to make its important first conversion breakthrough. Hesitation in the market can be attributed to carriers’ concerns over being an ‘early mover’ and cost issues. “We were the first to obtain approvals in principle (AiPs) from classification societies for all three segments. Our solution is truly turnkey, offering a broad set of solutions including expertise, engineering, designs, choice of yards and a full financing package,” says Ege Akcasoy, managing director of Newport Maritime Services.
According to Newport, planning for an LNG retrofit project takes around 11 months, with the vessel in dock for typically 45 days. “The key prerequisites are the capability of the main engine, the deck arrangement, speed requirement and usually vessels that are 10 years of age, or less. Our research has shown that about 40% of all tankers and bulk carriers units would be suitable for our LNG retrofit designs,” Akcasoy says.
“Importantly, also, we can offer a pathway to zero carbon with our designs, as bioLNG and e-LNG become more widely available. The key point is that vessels fitted with our LNG designs can use bio and e-LNG as well as various blends, without any further modifications,” he adds.
Armed with its AiPs from both BV and DNV, Newport can carry out a detailed evaluation of retrofit options for each vessel in an entire fleet. In addition to offering access to a network of shipyards worldwide, Newport can also offer ship owners access to finance packages that can flexibly support retrofit investment.
The network of yards within the Newport portfolio has recently been expanded with the addition of one of China’s leading shiprepair yards, Huarun Dadong Dockyard (HRDD). The yard operates eight repair jetties, four floating docks and one graving dock. The repair jetties cover a total length of over 2,290m, while the graving dock and floating dock can accommodate up to VLCC size vessels. Adding HRDD to the network of shipyards means Newport Shipping can now offer access to 16 shipyards, with a total of 43 docks and 2,800 repair slots annually.
