From a pioneer in gas shipping to a leading innovator in “Green Shipping” in 40 years

The trend towards greater environmental awareness in global shipping is continuing and legal requirements are becoming increasingly stringent. After decades of ships being powered by heavy fuel oil, this has long been considered outdated given the many pollutants produced during combustion. In order to achieve a better environmental balance, gas propulsion systems are increasingly being used for both newbuildings and conversions.

However, handling liquefied gas in shipping requires a particularly high level of expertise, which TGE Marine Gas Engineering is able to provide. Founded in Bonn in 1980 under the name “Liquid-Gas International Ingenieurgesellschaft”, TGE Marine has since established itself on the market as an expert for cryogenic gas plants, tank construction, fuel gas plants and reliquefaction plants. Early on, the company pioneered not only LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) systems but also the use of LNG bunker ships, which act as mobile refuelling stations for ships.

Over the past 40 years, TGE Marine has become a leading expert in gas tankers capable of transporting ammonia, ethylene, LNG and LPG. The company not only does the engineering, but also looks after planning, procurement, construction supervision and commissioning, and operation support. TGE Marine has been part of the Japanese Mitsui Group for several years.

Under the vision “THE GAS EXPERTS – Innovations for Greener Shipping”, 100 employees, most of them engineers at TGE headquarters on the Rhine, along with 20 other employees worldwide, are currently working to make a contribution to more sustainable shipping. “We take care of virtually everything that has to do with liquefied petroleum gas and that can float – from the first draft to execution and commissioning to long-term optimisation,” says CEO Jan Volkert Wibel, summarising TGE Marine’s role in the growing market.

In detail, the company established four different innovative product lines: LPG/ethylene gas tankers, LNG tankers (shuttle tankers and bunker ships), fuel gas systems and FSRUs (“Floating Storage Regasification Units”).

The core business remains the gas tanker sector. More than 250 such tankers have already been equipped with gas handling and gas systems by TGE Marine. The company uses state-of-the-art software tools and provides its customers with technical expertise throughout the construction phase.

The LNG fuel gas systems specially designed in-house – ranging from small container feeders and RoRo ships to mega-tankers and large container ships – have been installed at more than 20 shipyards in Asia, Europe and America on various types of ships for nearly all gas-powered main engines and generators available on the market.

Liquid gas is transported cooled up to minus 163 degrees Celsius, which imposes enormously high technical demands on the storage tanks and refrigeration systems on the carriers. However, TGE Marine has the necessary experience in this area. Our highly motivated team works continuously on innovations for the future. The tanks and systems can be delivered in almost any size to meet the customer’s specific requirements.

But TGE Marine not only designs the tanks for transporting LNG, it also offers its own designs for gas tankers. The use of these new technologies is seen by the maritime industry as a major step towards significantly reducing the emission of pollutants in global shipping. Other environmentally-friendly fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia are currently in the development phase.

As the market leader in the ethylene and small-scale LNG tanker segment, the company is well aware of the safety requirements that liquefied gases demand, as they can be toxic and flammable. This requires sophisticated engineering with a focus on safety. Customers often have questions about the correct handling of liquefied gases by the ships’ crews. TGE Marine is continuously working on advanced process automation and improved support, combined with the development of modern training standards.

In the field of naval architecture, TGE Marine’s shipbuilding engineers also offer sophisticated design packages ranging from feasibility studies to complete sets of class-certified design documents for all types of modern gas tankers. As a new development, the tanks can now also be installed in a more space-saving manner by turning the horizontal tank 90 degrees while retaining the same design.

One of the highlights of TGE Marine’s anniversary year was the delivery of a 28,000 m³ FSRU to Ghana, a project that clearly demonstrates the international nature of the company. This is because “Green Shipping” is a global issue in which the Bonn-based engineers are ideally positioned thanks to their technical know-how and solutions for shipping designed for sustainability.

The trend towards greater environmental awareness in global shipping is continuing.

Founded in Bonn in 1980, TGE Marine Gas Engineering has established itself on the market as an expert for cryogenic gas plants, tank construction, fuel gas plants and reliquefaction plants. Early on, TGE Marine pioneered not only LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) systems, but also the use of LNG bunker ships, which act as mobile refuelling stations for ships.

Under the vision “THE GAS EXPERTS – Innovations for Greener Shipping” 120 employees worldwide are now working in the four innovative product lines of LPG/ethylene gas tankers, LNG tankers (shuttle tankers and bunker ships) and fuel gas systems and FSRUs (“Floating Storage Regasification Units”).

The core business remains the gas tanker sector. The company uses state-of-the-art software tools and provides its customers with technical expertise throughout the construction phase. The tanks and systems can be delivered in almost any size to meet the customer’s specific requirements.

But TGE Marine not only designs the tanks and systems for transporting LNG, it also offers its own designs for gas tankers. The use of these technologies is seen by the maritime industry as a major step towards significantly reducing the emission of pollutants in global shipping. TGE Marine contributes to this through its technological solutions and, as the world leader in the ethylene, small to medium-sized LNG tanker, and alternative fuel segment, has become a leading innovator for more sustainable shipping.

This article was originally published on Marine & Industrial Report newspaper Vol 43  No.3  Issue last June 30, 2021.