Maritime clean technology leader Silverstream Technologies has surpassed 200 orders for its air lubrication system with its latest confirmed deal, according to the company's release. The Silverstream System will be installed onboard 18 new 271kcbm “QC-Max” class LNG carriers, which will be chartered by a global energy company and owned and operated by shipping majors.
Silverstream’s current orderbook includes 57 LNG carriers, spans 9 vessel segments, and includes 20 repeat customers, including 7 major ship owners and 13 of the world's largest shipyards. The company also has 82 systems in operation onboard the existing fleet.
Over the total lifetime of all contracted vessels, Silverstream estimates that its air lubrication technology will save its current customer base almost $5 billion in fuel costs and prevent the emission of over 19 million tonnes of CO2. Additionally, this CO2 reduction is projected to save approximately $2 billion through existing carbon tax systems.
Silverstream is proud to be part of the largest shipbuilding deal in China and to be supporting Chinese shipbuilding growth. These are the first 271kcbm LNG carriers to be wholly designed, build, maintained and serviced in China.
The Silverstream® System shears air from air release units (ARUs) in the hull to create a uniform carpet of microbubbles that coats the full flat bottom of a vessel. As a result, frictional resistance is decreased, cutting average net fuel consumption and GHG emissions by 5-10%. The system is fuel agnostic, effective in all sea states, and is applicable to all shipping segments.
As the shipping industry’s decarbonisation transition progresses, evolving regulatory and market drivers are strengthening the rationale for adopting vessel fuel efficiency solutions. LNG carriers could fall into non-compliant categories (D and E) of the IMO’s Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) framework, largely because of the way in which they handle boil-off gas. Meanwhile, the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) is adding a progressive cost to emissions, increasing in scope from 40% of emissions in 2024 to 70% in 2025 and 100% in 2026. This means that technologies such as the Silverstream System not only lower fuel consumption and emissions, but also help to cut the costs of regulatory compliance.
According to recent Clarksons data, at least 33% of the world’s ships are fitted with a form of energy saving device by gross tonnage, but the number of vessels is only 8700, compared to a global fleet of 110,500.
By sector, container ships have seen the highest clean technology uptake with over 48% of fleet capacity fitted with at least one solution, followed by tankers and cruise ships, both over 38%, and bulkers over 35%. Air lubrication systems are attracting growing interest from shipowners with 500 systems either in operation or set to be installed on newbuilds on order.
The Silverstream System, which makes up a significant proportion of the industry’s ALS uptake, is suitable for both retrofit and newbuild installations.