By taking part in the international Posidonia trade fair (Athens, 3-7 June 2024), Vanzetti Engineering intends to establish and strengthen relations with other leaders in the maritime sector by presenting its state-of-the-art cryogenic pumps for LNG, which is currently a key player in energy transition in the naval sector.
Cavallerleone, May 2024 – 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 3 to 7 June 2024.
“We are excited to participate in Posidonia 2024 for a number of key reasons. Firstly, the event represents an unparalleled opportunity for Vanzetti Engineering to establish and strengthen connections with other leaders in the maritime industry. Secondly, it gives us a unique space to present our latest innovations and cutting-edge solutions, highlighting our commitment to excellence and energy transition,” says Federico Buono, Marine Business Unit Manager at Vanzetti Engineering. “Posidonia also gives us the opportunity to participate in relevant debates and discussions on the future of the industry, enriching our perspective and opening up new opportunities for collaboration. Last but not least, it allows us to promote our brand on a global platform, by positioning Vanzetti Engineering in the landscape of Greek shipowners and promoting new products and solutions developed directly to those who use and/or will use our cryogenic pumps, consolidating existing relationships with a particular focus on the after-sales sector.”
Posidonia is particularly strategic for Vanzetti Engineering, as the shipbuilding business accounts for more than 70 per cent of the company's revenues and, approximately 75 per cent 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,” explains Federico Buono. “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 LNG sector in the maritime sector, which currently plays a leading role in energy transition, as Federico Buono himself explains. “All fuel transition scenarios (from rapid to gradual decarbonisation), which take into account the current regulations of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for the reduction of greenhouse gases, 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, WTW (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 CCS (Carbon Capture Scrubbers) that are being developed, as well as EST (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 to 300 lpm and differential pressures from 4 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 300-330 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 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 CO2 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,” clarifies 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.”