In-depth Issue 17 - Rolls-Royce

Viewpoint
The quest for operating
efficiency drives innovation and
technology.
The message from governments,
bankers and ship operators
seems to be very similar this
year to last, 2012 will be another
tough year. Banks have been cutting
their shipping exposure and financing
has become more difficult as lending
has tightened. The European Union
continues to pursue tighter financial
integration, and in the U.S. real growth
is proving elusive. With China slowing,
global growth forecasts for 2012 have
now reduced to around 3.5 per cent.
How things will eventually unfold
– and the knock-on effect this will have
– is not clear. Continuing volatility, at
least in the near term, is likely to be the
norm and the eventual outcome is likely
to have longer term implications for
shipping in general.
While challenges abound across
the industry, the higher value sectors
are proving resilient. In the highly
specialised offshore oil and gas sector,
further investment in deep water
exploration and production looks
particularly robust. We have recently
secured orders to provide thrusters
and engines for drillships in addition to
UT-Design Platform Supply Vessels and
Anchor Handlers.
The shift to low sulphur fuels and
the focus on sustainable shipping
has seen the steady uptake in LNG as
the fuel of choice for a growing number of newbuilds
scheduled for delivery by the 2015 ECA regulation
deadline. Our gas engines have been selected to power
a number of these vessels, including the world’s first
all-gas tugs.
We recently secured orders for the NVC 405 general
cargo carrier variant of our award winning Environship
concept. This innovative design delivers greenhouse gas
emission reductions of more than 40 per cent compared
to similar vessels.
The quest to reduce operating costs and the
environmental impact of vessels has been at the centre
of our thinking for some time, and this drives our
innovation and technology investment programmes to
meet the challenges our customers face.
In the naval sector, we have received orders for
power and propulsion systems for two more Littoral
Combat Ships for the US Navy. Twin MT30s power these
vessels, and benefit from over 45 million hours of airline
operating experience.
Rolls-Royce and Daimler have also joined forces
to create a new marine and industrial engine joint
venture through the acquisition of Tognum, maker of
MTU high speed diesel engines for use at sea and on
land. The engines and technology portfolios are highly
complementary to our Bergen medium speed engines.
As marine systems and equipment suppliers, the
goal of Rolls-Royce is to provide ship builders and ship
operators in the merchant, offshore and naval sectors with
cost effective, efficient and environmentally compliant
systems. A gas engine is a good start in reducing
emissions, but it is the effective integration of other energy
saving designs and technologies – for which we have a
strong track record and remains our continuing goal – that
makes the real difference.
I hope you enjoy reading more about how this is
being delivered through the articles in this latest edition
of In-depth.
TONY WOOD
President - Marine