The ferry Münsterland has left the dock location of shipyard Royal Niestern Sander in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The ship will be finished in the coming period at the inland location of the Groningen shipyard. This marks the start of the final phase of the conversion project.
The AG Ems passenger ship arrived at the Niestern Sander dock location early January. After the ship was put dry in dock 1, the stern was removed from the foreship and replaced by a newly built stern. This completely new designed and built stern contains dual fuel engines, an LNG storage tank, propulsion, all LNG installations, LNG piping and other systems.
Also read: New aft ship with LNG installation ready to be welded onto ferry Münsterland
The project approach of Niestern Sander leans on the two pillars of the company, namely shipbuilding and ship repair. Due to the combination of ship newbuilding and ship repair, most of the conversion operation takes place physically at the ship newbuilding yard, after which the parts are joined together in the repair dock to form a completely renovated ship.
Reduced emissions and hull resistance
With the LNG conversion, the Münsterland will emit considerably less CO2 and thus be much less damaging to the environment than comparable ships with traditional diesel engines.
The new shape of the stern will also reduce hull resistance. As a result, the ship needs less engine power to sail at the same speed, which means a reduction in fuel consumption and noise.
Also read: Aft ship cut from ferry Münsterland as part of LNG conversion
Economic feasibility of LNG conversion
With the Münsterland, Royal Niestern Sander demonstrates the economic feasibility of an LNG conversion in practice. The Münsterland will be taken back into service in its new form by AG Ems in the summer of 2021.
For this innovation project Niestern Sander receives a contribution from the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union.
