Prospects and problems of using liquefied natural gas as fuel on river ships in the northern steaming line of Russia

Abstract

The article discusses the prospects for the modernization of projects of ships operating in the water areas of the main Siberian rivers, for the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as the main type of fuel, as well as problems associated with the adaptation of existing ship designs. LNG is a cheap, energy efficient, and more environmentally friendly analogue of traditional diesel fuel (DF). Unification of adaptation projects for common types of main engines of ships from northern shipping companies will significantly reduce operating costs. Modernization problems are associated with the storage of fuel stock on ships. The lower density of LNG in comparison with diesel fuel, as well as the need to use a cryogenic fuel tank, reduces the autonomy of the ship's operation on LNG. The analysis carried out in the article showed that with modernization, the autonomy of navigation in terms of fuel reserves can decrease by 2 times