The aim of the project ‘Small-scale LNG for inland shipping’, part of Zuid-Holland’s Provincial Air Quality Action Programme is to retrofit two vessels with a dual-fuel LNG powertrain. One of the vessels is defined as a ‘high-end’ solution, with an entirely new system being purchased, including a new engine, and the other as a ‘low-end’ solution, with the old engine being retained and the retrofit carried out in the simplest possible manner. The aim of these pilots is to yield greater insight into the total user costs of two extreme variants of LNG retrofit for inland shipping vessels and, additionally, into the emissions of LNG dual-fuel ship’s engines.
This brief report provides an initial estimate of the emission reduction achieved through use of retrofit dual-fuel systems on existing vessels. An indication of the magnitude of the potential reduction will have to ultimately come from the pilots. The report also estimates the total emission cuts to be achieved through large-scale application of LNG, a better understanding of which this pilot can help develop.