Freedom exhaust repair

[leerobbs]

Anyone sailed on the Freedom recently and noticed the work being done to the engine exhausts? I noticed it on the May 15 sailing. I did not hear anything about it while on board, does anyone have any details? I suspect it is related to the fire from last summer.

[uksimonusa]

I think you'll find that it's scrubber installation.

[alfaeric]

I think you'll find that it's scrubber installation.

 

 

Yes, there are signs kind of describing what is going on around the work.

 

From the outside, it will look like how the Liberty currently looks.

[dschultz56]

We were just on Liberty and they said it was the first ship to get the new scrubbers during its Feb dry dock.

[Thetrail]

Anyone sailed on the Freedom recently and noticed the work being done to the engine exhausts? I noticed it on the May 15 sailing. I did not hear anything about it while on board, does anyone have any details? I suspect it is related to the fire from last summer.

New scrubber installation....K.O.

[atnolan94]

Yes, there are signs kind of describing what is going on around the work.

 

From the outside, it will look like how the Liberty currently looks.

 

What exactly is the visible difference? What are scrubbers specifically?

 

I'm a gearhead/mechanic type so I love to learn about this stuff!

[chengkp75]

What exactly is the visible difference? What are scrubbers specifically?

 

I'm a gearhead/mechanic type so I love to learn about this stuff!

 

From the outside, once the work is done, there won't be any difference in appearance. I believe that a card room by the Diamond or Crown lounge will go away for machinery space.

 

The scrubber is a device that "scrubs" the particulate matter and noxious oxides (nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxides) from the exhaust gas. This will allow the engines to continue to burn high sulfur residual fuel, rather than the more costly low sulfur diesel fuel and still meet the emissions requirements of the US ECA (Emissions Control Area), which extends 200 miles out from the coast of North America, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the USVI.

 

Most of RCI's scrubbers are "multi-engine" ones, where the exhausts from 3-4 up to the full 5-6 engines onboard are ducted to one scrubber chamber for treatment. When outside the ECA, the scrubber can be bypassed as the emissions standards are different. The scrubber itself uses a water spray with an alkaline chemical in it to precipitate out the emissions, and then the system either dumps this water to sea (after some neutralization) or recirculates it and removes the particulates using a centrifuge. The removed particulates are stored with the ship's waste oil and pumped ashore to disposal facilities as needed.

 

Installation when in service will take about 4-5 months of construction, and then another 1-2 months of tuning, testing, and certification before they can resume burning residual fuel.

[schmenge]

On the Freedom, how much impact are you seeing to the cruisers? Noise, closed facilities, etc?

[orville99]

We were on FOS in March. They had the major pieces installed of the scrubbers. Before they started installing the scrubber, you could walk out of the back of the D lounge and walk around to the opposite side of the ship where the card room is. The scrubber fills that passageway now so there is no way to get from one side of that deck to the other any more. Essentially, the card room and the D Lounge now have their own private patios which can only be accessed from the inside or from the stairs next to the BB court.

Edited June 4, 2016 by orville99

[chengkp75]

Just had to refresh my mind, and looked back at some of my older posts, and it was the Freedom that had the fire up by the scrubbers last July. Interesting that they are still working on it.

[monorail81]

Just had to refresh my mind, and looked back at some of my older posts, and it was the Freedom that had the fire up by the scrubbers last July. Interesting that they are still working on it.

 

I was JUST thinking that. We sailed on the Freedom in August and they were installing the scrubbers. Kind of shocked that they aren't finished yet.

[Ourusualbeach]

Here's the press release from Dec. 2014 about the scrubbers. They did say 8 moths for installation do they are not that far behind.

 

http://m.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/press-release/1125/royal-caribbean-steaming-ahead-toward-global-emissions-standards/

 

ROYAL CARIBBEAN STEAMING AHEAD TOWARD GLOBAL EMISSIONS STANDARDS

MIAMI – December22, 2014 – Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE/OSE: RCL) will retrofit 19 of its ships with advanced emissions purification (AEP) systems, underscoring its commitment to meet or exceed important environmental standards. These systems, also known as scrubbers, will remove more than 97% of the sulfur dioxide emissions generated by the ships' diesel engines.

 

The move will position RCL ahead of all forthcoming International Maritime Organization Emission Control Area emissions standards, and will ensure compliance with existing European Union standards. Additionally, the decision to install AEP systems instead of switching to a fuel with a lower sulfur content will ensure that RCL's ships can be compliant everywhere they sail, as availability of lower-sulfur fuels is limited.

 

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has been involved in development, testing and planning for the use of AEP technology since 2010. Two newly built RCL ships that entered into service this year, Royal Caribbean International's Quantum of the Seas and TUI Cruises' Mein Schiff 3, were among the first cruise ships to be built with AEP systems installed during initial construction. Royal Caribbean International's Liberty of the Seas has been operating one of its six engines with a retrofitted AEP system for two years. AEP systems "scrub" exhaust gases by injecting high volumes of water spray into the exhaust stream, removing more than 97% of sulfur dioxide emissions.

 

"AEP technology for maritime vessels is very new, and we expect that by utilizing multiple technological solutions to accommodate the differences among our ships, additional development will ultimately help industrialize AEP technology even more, which will benefit not only RCL but also the larger maritime industry," said Adam Goldstein, President and COO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

 

The company faced significant challenges in order to accommodate the AEP systems on its existing ships – some pieces of which can be as large as a school bus, an entire system having an operational weight of several hundred tons of equipment and liquids. "A retrofit project of this size and complexity – and the scale and intricacy of the research, planning, and design required – is unprecedented for our company, and has required a very systematic process and involved the world's leading expertise in this field," said Harri Kulovaara, Executive Vice President, Maritime, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

 

To ensure the right systems are available for each ship's unique requirements, RCL contracted two different AEP technology suppliers, Swedish company Alfa Laval and Finnish company Wartsila. Additional companies are being hired to execute the installations.

 

"In addition to the teamwork it takes within our own company to execute a program of this magnitude and make all the necessary process improvements, the collaboration with government agencies has been key," Goldstein said. "Working with our fleets' flag states, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Coast Guard, and Transport Canada to explore technology development has been critical, and we are eager to continue to work with these agencies to explore whether there are additional environmental benefits to using these systems," said Goldstein.

 

Beginning in January 2015, installation will take place on 13 Royal Caribbean International ships and six Celebrity Cruises ships, during scheduled dry-dockings and while ships are in service. While preliminary work has begun on several of the ships receiving AEP systems, most will take place between 2015 and 2017. Each installation will take approximately eight months.

 

AEP systems that scrub sulfur particles from exhaust streams are one of several different emissions reduction tools that RCL employs. Another focus is using less fuel, to further the company's goal of reducing its carbon footprint – a typical measurement of greenhouse gas emissions. To use less fuel, RCL has implemented hundreds of energy-saving initiatives throughout its fleet. Several new approaches were taken in building Quantum of the Seas, including a full-hull air lubrication system that reduces friction between the ship and the water, which can result in up to seven percent energy savings depending on ship speed and itinerary; a keycard-operated master switch for lights and air-conditioning in guest staterooms that reduces unnecessary energy usage; and the use of only LED or fluorescent lights.

 

Anticipated costs for the AEP program have been estimated and included in RCL’s capital expenditure and capacity guidance.

 

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE/OSE: RCL) is a global cruise vacation company that owns Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara Club Cruises and CDF Croisieres de France, as well as TUI Cruises through a 50 percent joint venture. Together, these six brands operate a combined total of 42 ships with an additional seven under construction contracts, and two on firm order. They operate diverse itineraries around the world that call on approximately 490 destinations on all seven continents. Additional information can be found on http://www.royalcaribbean.com, http://www.celebritycruises.com, http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com, http://www.pullmantur.es, http://www.cdfcroisieresdefrance.com, http://www.tuicruises.com, or http://www.rclinvestor.com.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Ourusualbeach

[chengkp75]

Yes, but they were a couple of months into the installation when the fire happened in July. And, as I've said, the final couple of months are operational adjustments and testing to obtain certification, so there would be no visible signs of construction left. I'd say they are 4-6 months behind on Freedom, if the construction "sign walls" are still up.

[Thetrail]

On the Freedom, how much impact are you seeing to the cruisers? Noise, closed facilities, etc?

Impact for the cruisers......K.O.:)

[Thetrail]

Yes, but they were a couple of months into the installation when the fire happened in July. And, as I've said, the final couple of months are operational adjustments and testing to obtain certification, so there would be no visible signs of construction left. I'd say they are 4-6 months behind on Freedom, if the construction "sign walls" are still up.

The signage and barriers still in place when we did a B2B on her last week of April first week of May. Workers still doing there thing on the scaffold......K.O.

[atnolan94]

From the outside, once the work is done, there won't be any difference in appearance. I believe that a card room by the Diamond or Crown lounge will go away for machinery space.

 

The scrubber is a device that "scrubs" the particulate matter and noxious oxides (nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxides) from the exhaust gas. This will allow the engines to continue to burn high sulfur residual fuel, rather than the more costly low sulfur diesel fuel and still meet the emissions requirements of the US ECA (Emissions Control Area), which extends 200 miles out from the coast of North America, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the USVI.

 

Most of RCI's scrubbers are "multi-engine" ones, where the exhausts from 3-4 up to the full 5-6 engines onboard are ducted to one scrubber chamber for treatment. When outside the ECA, the scrubber can be bypassed as the emissions standards are different. The scrubber itself uses a water spray with an alkaline chemical in it to precipitate out the emissions, and then the system either dumps this water to sea (after some neutralization) or recirculates it and removes the particulates using a centrifuge. The removed particulates are stored with the ship's waste oil and pumped ashore to disposal facilities as needed.

 

Installation when in service will take about 4-5 months of construction, and then another 1-2 months of tuning, testing, and certification before they can resume burning residual fuel.

 

Sounds similar to the SCR and DPF systems on newer light duty diesel engines. That technology is very sophisticated. I can definitely understand why it may take a while when doing this on a ship that it wasn't originally designed to be on.

[chengkp75]

Sounds similar to the SCR and DPF systems on newer light duty diesel engines. That technology is very sophisticated. I can definitely understand why it may take a while when doing this on a ship that it wasn't originally designed to be on.

 

Not even close to being as sophisticated as the systems you mention. Basically, just a water "shower" to cause the particulates to precipitate out. No need to accumulate particulates in a small chamber or design something that will "afterburn" the particulates.

 

The removal process to get the contaminants from the water is basically decades old centrifugal separation that every ship afloat is familiar with for their fuels and lubricating oils.