Cryostar, the French supplier of cryogenic equipment, said it has commissioned and tested its latest six-stage fuel gas compressor on new LNG tanker SK Audace.
SK Audace is claimed to be the first LNG carrier fitted with XDF propulsion.
The vessel was delivered last month to shipowners SK Shipping and Marubeni from Samsung Heavy in South Korea.
The 180,000-cbm LNG carrier is chartered to French energy giant Total.
SK Audace is equipped with WinGD X62DF main engines and Wartsila 34DF gensets. Cryostar’s CM6-200 compressors were designed to be able to manage the different fuel gas requirements for each engine type.
Cryostar said in its statement that , even though the configuration of machinery and systems represented something of a prototype for XDF, the gas trial “passed successfully” with some minor tuning of control loops, allowing the system to operate as planned, for all engine loads up to the required 4 ton/hour.
The company added that a total of sixteen CM6-200 compressors have been delivered to date and are currently being installed on vessels under construction, with a further 12 units on order.