Alfa Laval AFEM Provides 30% Bunker Savings in Two-Year Trial

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday March 28, 2017

Alfa Laval today announced that, through a two-year pilot project with Navigazione Montanari S.p.A. (Navigazione Montanari), its Automatic Fuel Efficiency Module (AFEM) has been shown to provide an average fuel savings of 30 percent.

AFEM is a new modification intended to reduce fuel consumption in Alfa Laval Smit Combustion inert gas systems, while ensuring the inert gas that keeps cargo safe during offloading is only generated in the exact amounts required.

"In recent years, Navigazione Montanari has been focused on improving environmental standards, especially with regard to minimizing CO2 production and fuel waste. Taking part in a pilot project to evaluate the AFEM thus seemed like a natural fit," says Alfa Laval.

Navigazione Montanari's 40,000 DWT product carrier, Valle di Navarra, was selected as the test vessel for the project.

The ship, which primarily sails in the Mediterranean with gasoil and gasoline cargo, is said to discharge frequently compared to similar vessels with Smit Combustion systems – up to three times per week – providing Alfa Laval with sufficient statistical information on AFEM performance and reliability.

"The AFEM project was part of a broader goal of continuous product development here at Alfa Laval," said Mart Blankert, Manager Customer Support, Inert Gas Systems at Alfa Laval.

"When a customer chooses one of our systems, we see it as the start of a partnership that lasts for the lifetime of the vessel. We’re constantly innovating new improvements that help keep total lifecycle costs to a minimum, and we strive to make them available for existing installations as well."

Alfa Laval notes that, for vessels with Smit Combustion systems already installed, the AFEM will soon be available as a retrofit, while those with new inert gas systems will see AFEM be made available as an added option at the time of the original installation.