Wärtsilä's Gas-Handling Systems Chosen for World's Largest Ethane Carriers

HELSINKI (Oct. 13, 2014) — Six new ethane carriers (VLECs) with a capacity of 87,000 cubic meters, which are being built at the Samsung Heavy Industries yard in South Korea, will feature Wärtsilä gas-handling systems. The contract was signed in September, and this series has an option for additional vessels. Deliveries of the Wärtsilä solutions will commence in 2016. These vessels will be the biggest ethane carriers ever built and represent a new generation of such vessels. They will mainly transport ethane as feed stock to the petrochemical industry. The transportation of ethane is a rapidly growing segment of the marine gas-carrying business, the global VLEC fleet is expected to increase significantly during the coming years.

The VLECs are being built for the Reliance Group, India's largest private sector enterprise. The group has businesses in the energy and materials value chain, including petrochemicals. The new vessels will carry ethane from American shale gas to India to be processed for making plastic. Delivery of the ships will commence at the end of 2016 and is scheduled to be completed in early 2017. Wärtsilä's scope of supply represents a complete cargo-handling package for each ship. This includes the process and arrangement engineering; the deck tank; all equipment related to the cargo handling; and a purpose-built reliquefaction plant to handle the C-ethane from the American shale gas. "This is a valuable order and one that again emphasizes Wärtsilä's competences and experience in gas-handling systems," said Timo Koponen, vice president, flow and gas solutions, Wärtsilä Ship Power. "These state-of-the-art ethane carriers require state-of-the-art gas-handling systems. Our technology and know-how in this field uniquely positions us to offer the most appropriate solutions for VLECs, which is an application that is rapidly expanding." Wärtsilä's cargo-handling solutions cover everything from loading the gas at the terminal to keeping it safe during freight and unloading it at the final destination. When the cargo is gas, it is of the utmost importance to keep it under stable conditions at a certain temperature and pressure. Thus, efficient processing is an essential element of the company's offering. Wärtsilä's products all comply with the IMO's recommendations and regulations. Wärtsilä provides cargo-handling technology for gas carriers.