Containership gains 300 slots by removing engine room

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This could possibly be one of the most important design developments in the history of container shipping – the creation of a vessel that does away with its diesel engine, replacing it with a combined gas and steam (COGAS) turbine, electrically driven and powered by LNG. The joint-research project, involving ship classification society DNV GL, French container line CMA CGM and LNG specialist GTT, concluded that “the space normally occupied by a conventional engine room can be used to increase cargo capacity by approximately 300 container slots compared to a heavy fuel oil-fuelled ship”. While more container slots is the last thing the industry needs at the moment, one of the first thing it does need is better environmental performance, which LNG solves at a stroke.