A new Voyage Emissions Reduction (VER) system will reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from tankers by up to 75%.

Wärtsilä’s VER system will tackle VOC’s during laden voyages as the organic chemicals have a high vapour pressure resulting from their low boiling point, which leads to extensive evaporation. On average, an oil tanker will emit 0.085% of its contained cargo per each week. For a 320,000 DWT Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), this amounts to 270t of lost cargo per week said Wärtsilä.

Speaking of the system’s potential to increase oil tanker revenues, Timo Koponen, vice president of flow and gas solutions at Wärtsilä Marine Solutions, said: "Wärtsilä is dedicated to developing innovative solutions that reduce operating costs for owners, while at the same time contributing to a cleaner environment.

“The VER system follows this philosophy by eliminating cargo waste and optimally lowering tanker fuel costs, thus enabling a payback time that can be less than one year.”

Two versions

Two versions of the VER system will be available. The 'reabsorption' version is designed as a simple to install, 'plug-in' system that re-circulates the VOC back to the cargo tanks. It represents a technology for eliminating cargo losses, which operates automatically and without manual intervention, said Wärtsilä.

The 'fuel' version utilises the VOC as fuel for the vessel. This is a new development, which Wärtsilä said has significant fuel cost saving advantages.