HEINZMANN regulates MAN Rollo LNG generator sets for maritime on-board power supply and boost power aboard LNG ferry. The engine management system on the new Heligoland ferry, equipped with control, regulation and monitoring systems from HEINZMANN, makes a vital contribution to safe on-board power supply and to a reduction in emissions.

Press Release (March, 2015)

Anyone travelling by ship from Cuxhaven to Heligoland – Germany’s only high sea islands – from the 2015 season will be treated to a cruise experience unique on such island routes. The new passenger and freight ferry, built at the Fassmer shipyards in Berne and registered to shipping company Cassen Eils in Cuxhaven, itself a subsidiary of the AG EMS Group, is uniquely environmentally friendly: it is the first newly built, seagoing German ferry to be operated with liquefied natural gas and has therefore been honoured with the ‘Blue Angel’ award. The LNG generator sets for on-board power generation supplied by MAN Rollo B.V., complete with their engine management system from HEINZMANN, also make a vital contribution here.

The new Heligoland ferry from Cassen Eils is truly imposing to behold, with an elegant design and attractive lines. What makes it so significantly different from other vessels, however, becomes most apparent amidships. The strikingly proportioned and unmissable chimney stack is actually a dummy, disguising a generous light dome with a sky bar. The actual stack is an exhaust mast which sits diagonally atop this dummy, elegantly accentuating the revolutionary new drive technology of the vessel.

The innovative drive technology of the new passenger ferry specifically concerns the pioneering development of an LNG (liquefied natural gas) drive system for combined passenger and freight operation. This reduces nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide by 90%, carbon dioxide by 20%, and particulate matters are no longer generated at all. The main drive system comprises a dual-fuel engine, which is driven with just one per cent diesel fuel alongside LNG. The on-board power supply and the boost power function for the main propulsion system are provided up by three 12-cylinder MAN E3262 LE222 gas generator sets, each generating 480 ekW. These make no use of diesel fuels at all and are a true innovation in European shipping. ” MAN Rollo B.V. is proud to be one of the first companies being able to provide LNG gensets which are fully approved for the maritime usage,” explains Director Gertjan Boer from MAN Rollo B.V. in Zoetermeer (NL).

The gas engine regulation systems from HEINZMANN used here have been tried and tested by end customers and engine manufacturers worldwide for many years. “They are durable and highly reliable; factors which are particularly significant for applications at sea,” attests Boer, who finds the monitoring and safety functions especially important when it comes to protecting the engines from undesirable operating conditions. As an example, the gas quality of LNG, which is not nearly as precisely specified as the ones of natural gas H or natural gas L, may vary, which can have a detrimental effect on the operation of the cutting-edge engines. The management system of these engines comprises HELENOS speed control systems, KRONOS 20 AFR systems for the electronic air-fuel-ratio control, PHLOX II ignitionsystems and ARIADNE systems for monitoring any potential knocking combustion.

Systems supplied by HEINZMANN – which have already been certified for use in ships for a long time – are used with the HELENOS speed control systems. They are in service aboard conventional, diesel-driven ships from Switzerland to South-East Asia. A unique feature of these speed control systems is the redundant design of the speed detection system. If one speed sensor should fail here, a second sensor is present which would take over and guarantee the engine speed detection in its place.

The trusted KRONOS mixture control systems also guarantee optimum engine power and a long service life. They can be perfectly adapted to engine-specific circumstances. It was nevertheless a challenge to achieve the best possible mixture generation for the highly efficiency-optimised engines. “The real success of this design is the reaction time of the gas driven generator sets. It was successfully adjusted to load steps close to those of diesel generator sets”, explains Boer.

The performance of an ignition system is a decisive factor in determining the level of efficiency and emissions. This system has to adapt flexibly to the respective requirements of the engine, the operating mode, and the fuel. The PHLOX II systems used in this case are particularly well suited for up to 16 cylinders. Reliable ignition control is accorded particular importance aboard the new Heligoland ferry: “It must ensure at all times, even during critical start and stop sequences, that no unburned gas gets into the exhaust tract,” emphasises engineer Dominik Andre, the responsible project leader at HEINZMANN.The fact that this could lead to undesired deflagration means that the efficiency and reliability of the ignition systems are highly important factors for safety.

The monitoring of so-called knocking combustion should be understood as being in close relation to the safety and efficiency of the engines, especially in the context of the previously mentioned possibility of varying gas quality. The ARIADNE knocking monitoring systems communicate with the PHLOX ignition systems and vary the respective ignition point in the case of knocking combustion.