Vanzetti Engineering is taking part in Posidonia, the international trade fair of reference for shipbuilders, suppliers of navigation equipment and shipping-related services, to be held in Athens, Greece, from June 3 to June 7, 2024.

Posidonia is particularly strategic for Vanzetti Engineering, as the shipbuilding business accounts for more than 70% of the company's revenues and, approximately 75% of this share comes from fuel gas system supplier (FGSS) customers in Asia Pacific. Major Italian ship owners also build their ships in Asia. “Our presence on the Italian market is therefore attributable to relations with major ship owners renewing their fleets in China,” explained Federico Buono, marine business unit manager at Vanzetti Engineering. “In addition to this, there are collaborations with small ship owners who develop bunkering ship projects and with R&D cooperations with shipyards for the introduction of hydrogen as the marine fuel of the future, for example for fuel cells or blending in LNG dual fuel engines.”

A rapidly growing sector
Vanzetti Engineering's presence at the Posidonia fair is part of a particularly flourishing context for the LNGSource: Vanzetti EngineeringSource: Vanzetti Engineering sector in the maritime sector, which currently plays a leading role in energy transition, as Federico Buono explained. “All fuel transition scenarios (from rapid to gradual decarbonization), which take into account the current regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG), show an upward trend for LNG, with a peak quantity of LNG traded by sea of around 750 MT as a conservative estimate for around the year 2035. In terms of GHG, well-to-wake emissions of LNG already meet the reduction targets for 2035 and, thanks to the mix with bio-LNG — with the ultimate goal of 100% bio-LNG — compliance is theoretically guaranteed up to the 2050 targets of the FuelEU Maritime Intensity Limits initiative (-80% GHG emissions).”


Therefore, LNG will increasingly be the 'bridge fuel,' also thanks to a ship-wide systemic approach that sees the adoption of carbon capture scrubbers that are being developed, as well as energy saving technologies that are increasingly integrated into new projects, and the fuel-mix with bio-LNG. Suffice it to say that the latest estimates by Clarksons Research give a forecast that the number of 'LNG capable' ships will potentially increase fivefold from the current 1,000 within a decade.

A complete range for navigation applications
Vanzetti Engineering products used in the maritime industry are the well-established ARTIKA submerged pump series and the VT-3 high pressure skids. ARTIKA pumps are mainly used as cargo pumps (ARTIKA 230-300-400) and booster pumps (ARTIKA 120-160). The latter account for the largest share of pumps sold, with flow rates from about 10 lpm to 300 lpm and differential pressures from 4 bar to 15 bar, for the purpose of taking LNG from cryogenic tanks and pumping it to VT-3 high-pressure skids. The role of the VT-3 HP skids is to increase the LNG pressure to around 300 bar to 330 bar in cases where ships are powered by engines operating at these pressures (e.g. MAN ME-GIs) and operating at flow rates of 20 lpm to 150 lpm.

One of the recently acquired projects that Vanzetti Engineering has been working on is the supply of 60 ARTIKA 160 pumps and 20 VT-3 Triplex HP skids that will be mounted on two series of 10 Neo-Panamax class container ships.

The new ESK-IMO series has recently been added to the products with applications in the maritime sector. These are retractable submerged pumps used in the maritime sector as 'emergency pumps', i.e., pumps stored on board that allow the tank to be emptied in the event of an emergency by inserting the retractable pump itself in the dedicated column.

In addition, among its new projects, Vanzetti Engineering is working on putting to use its consolidated experience in the air gases market into the development of LCO2 cryogenic pumps for on-board carbon dioxide capture.

Prospects in the medium and long term
In the maritime sector, the prospects for Vanzetti Engineering are to continue operating with a strong focus on Asian countries, which represent the heart of the global maritime market, and to manage its contractual policies so as to strengthen relations with long-term partnership contracts with the main FGSS operating in the market, in order to have greater visibility and security that will allow the company to invest in product development in the medium and long term. “In the medium term, we aim to expand and complete our product range for LNG, while in the long term the goal is to invest in what we believe represents the future of cryogenics, not only in the maritime sector,” clarified Federico Buono. “All this without forgetting the European market with our established customers and the potential development of the American market. Finally, our network of partners in both Greece and Asia plays a key role in implementing our commercial strategy, allowing us to maintain a profitable relationship with shipowners, and to effectively manage local operational support.”

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