NEWS
tal and commercial advantages for shipowners and ship operators. Once the guidelines have been reviewed both
internally and externally, and feedback has been assessed, they will be published as a Bureau Veritas Guidance Note entitled, Guidelines for fuel cell systems onboard commercial ships. Te guidelines are primarily intended for application to new vessels but can also be used on a case-by case basis for the retrofitting of fuel cell systems on existing ships. Te guidelines are to be complied with alongside all relevant safety of life at sea (SOLAS) provisions. Fuel cells are electrochemical devices, which convert
the chemical energy of a fuel, for example hydrogen- rich gases, into direct current power. Teir application in shipping has been limited to a few pilot projects, until now, and the main obstacle to wider application of fuel cells in shipping is the lack of a comprehensive framework. BV product manager, Gijsbert de Jong, said: “BV is breaking the vicious circle whereby the lack of a regulatory framework limits the possibilities for building and testing the prototype applications which are essential for determining the safety and perform- ance criteria involved.” Tere are many different types of fuel cell technology,
using different types of fuel. BV has found that the use of hydrogen, for example, offers significant advantages, such as its unlimited resource in atomic form and the
fact that it delivers a higher chemical energy per unit mass than natural gas, and is non-toxic, non-polluting and non-poisonous.
Towing Fleet expansion
for Kotug Kotug has delivered its latest tugboat with a towing capacity of 83 short tons. RT Margo follows the ‘Rotortug’ principle, patented
by Kooren Shipbuilding & Trading BV (three propul- sion units and three main engines) and is believed to be the strongest port tug currently in Dutch waters. RT Margo is part of an extensive newbuilding
programme of powerful and manoeuvrable ‘Rotortugs’, which are being built at shipyards in Japan and Singapore. Kotug’s towing service, active in the ports of Rotter-
dam, Bremerhaven and Le Havre has also further expanded its fleet with the addition of two new tugboats. SD Seal and SD Seahorse form the latter half of a series of four tugs and have a towing capacity of 65 short tons each. SDSeal and SDSeahorse are sister vessels of SD Shark
and SD Stingray, which were added to the Rotterdam fleet and christened in Rotterdam in mid-2008. SBI
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