| J. Lauritzen reaps the benefits of having Gazcon nitrogen generators installed onboard their ocean tankers |
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The shipping company, J. Lauritzen, reduced docking time in connection with cargo handling and during ship maintenance by being its own supplier of inert gas.
For the renowned Danish shipping company, J. Lauritzen, the expression ‘time is money’ is no cliché. Minimising the time at port is a success criterion for the shipping industry as it saves the shipping company expensive port fees and leaves more time for the core business: transportation. Installing an on-board nitrogen generator on its LPG carrier, Ocean Primate, was one way of optimising the cargo loading process. Having an onboard supply of nitrogen enables the vessel to purge at sea, hereby avoiding expensive in-port time, which consequently makes the transportation more efficient. Being self-sufficient with nitrogen not only means savings in terms of costs for liquefied nitrogen, port fees, etc; it also means substantial time savings for Lauritzen’s customers. |
Ocean Primate at the dock, getting nitrogen generators installed |
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J. Lauritzen becomes its own supplier of nitrogen
During a recent docking of Ocean Primate, owned by All Ocean and currently managed by Lauritzen Fleet Management, the last of two Gazcon nitrogen generators was installed onboard. A similar generator had previously been fitted on the sistership Ocean Primero. The generators are of the type MN500 and have a capacity of 500 Nm³/hr. |
| J. Lauritzen turned to Gazcon for installation of the two nitrogen generators for several reasons. “We have been pleased to work with Gazcon on these projects”, Mr. Kim Kjær, Superintendent at J. Lauritzen, says, and continues: “Gazcon has a department dedicated to the marine sector and understands the needs of the industry well. They are also used to comply with the strict safety standards in the industry, which is particularly important when carrying potentially explosive cargo like LPG.” |
The Gazcon generator proved its worth from day one
The nitrogen generator already proved its worth from day one. In connection with the recent docking of Ocean Primate, an inspection and a renovation of the cargo tanks was planned. This necessitated ‘breathable air’ in the tanks as quickly as possible as a new gas load was waiting to be transported.
After the inspection the cargo tanks were de-gassed by means of a special flushing technique, using the Gazcon nitrogen system. This method proved much faster than flushing with liquid nitrogen.
At departure from the ship yard, the oxygen contents of the tanks was below 0.5% (nitrogen contents of 99,5%). The vessel was hence ready for the its new gas load at arrival in the loading port only 16 hours away from the yard.
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The new nitrogen generator at Ocean Primate |
| Mr. Kim Kjær concludes: “The installation of on board PSA-based nitrogen generators gives us the freedom of having our own cost-effective nitrogen source at all times. For our customers it means that we are more flexible as we can reduce the time consumption for future cargo shifts. Internally it has the benefit of less daily administration”. |
Facts and figures:
Generator type:
Capacity and purity:
Installed at:
Installation period: |
MN500
On-board nitrogen generator based on the PSA
(Pressure Swing Adsorption) technology.
500 Nm³/hr with 95% purity.
330 Nm³/hr with 99.5% purity
M/S Ocean Primate, 3200 cbm
Carrying: LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas)
M/S Ocean Primero, 3218 cbm
Carrying: LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas)
3-5 days, Installed during summer 2007
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