CMES to install air lubrication systems on LNG carriers to cut emissions

Chinese shipping company China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) is set to install air lubrication systems on its LNG carriers to reduce emissions and fuel consumption.

PHOTO: CMES’ LNG carrier at sea. Silverstream Technologies

CMES will install UK-based Silverstream Technologies’ air lubrication system - a method to reduce the resistance between the ship’s hull and seawater using air bubbles - on four of its 175,000 cbm LNG carriers, with an option to extend it to two more vessels.

Silverstream System, as it is called, uses air from air release units (ARUs) in the hull to generate air bubbles and pass them continuously beneath the ship’s surface, forming a coat of air that reduces friction significantly. The company claims that the technology can reduce net fuel consumption and emissions by 5-10%.

This installation will take place on vessels built by the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company (DSIC) and is expected to be finished by the end of 2024.

Silverstream Technologies’ founder and chief executive, Noah Silberschmidt, believes the deal is based on the company’s “track record of cutting emissions and fuel consumption in one of the shipping industry’s most important operating sectors.”

This week, Italian shipping company Grimaldi Group selected to install Silverstream Technologies’ air lubrication systems on five of its vessels to reduce emissions and fuel costs.

By Tuhin Roy

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