Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group has awarded a contract to Norway-headquartered TMC Compressors to deliver its energy-efficient Smart Air compressors to six mid-sized container vessels that the shipbuilder is constructing for Maersk.
Under the contract, TMC will provide a complete marine compressed air system based on its Smart Air compressors, which offer up to 40% energy saving compared to conventional compressors. The system will consist of control and service air compressors.
Hans Petter Tanum, TMC director of sales and business development said: “Maersk has previously announced that these six container vessels, which all have dual-fuel engines able to operate on green methanol, represent another step in the green transformation of the company’s fleet towards its net-zero target in 2040. We are proud that our Smart Air compressors have been chosen for such future-oriented and sustainable vessels.”
The Smart Air compressors are based on a frequency-controlled technology that offers precise control of the compressor speed. The speed of the electrical motor will adjust itself according to what is required to produce the exact air volume necessary to meet the actual compressed air consumption at all times. In turn, lower air consumption requires less speed on the compressor, and this directly results in lower power consumption.
Yangzijiang will deliver the six 9,000 TEU vessels in 2026 and 2027. All have dual fuel engines able to operate on both fuel oil and methanol. Replacing vessels in a similar size segment, the new vessels will reduce Maersk’s annual GHG emissions by about 450,000t CO2e per year on a fuel lifecycle basis when operating on green methanol.
Image: Methanol-fuelled container ship (credit: Maersk)
