---

DeltaLangh's exhaust gas cleaning system, or scrubber, onboard Langh Ship’s M/S Laura recently received a final class approval from Germanischer Lloyd on June 17, 2014.

Finnish firm DeltaLangh has also been assigned to equip Langh Ship's other four vessels, operating in Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECAs), with a similar exhaust gas cleaning system. The installations are expected to be in operation on January 1, 2015 when the new sulphur directive comes into force.

DeltaLangh was established in June 2014 when Deltamarin Ltd and Oy Langh Ship Ab joined forces to offer an alternative solution to shipping companies looking to tackle the challenge of the new sulphur directive for SECA areas. There are SECA zones in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the English Channel, North American coastal area and the US Caribbean Sea.

In January 2015, all ships operating in SECA areas will be required to limit emissions to correspond with the use of fuel with a sulphur content of less than 0.1%. The current limit is 1%. Switching over to low sulphur distillate products leads to an increase in operating costs. Another solution is to use an exhaust gas cleaning system, which reduces the sulphur content of the exhaust gases accordingly.

DeltaLangh provides shipping companies with an environmentally friendly closed loop scrubber solution, which also cleans the scrubber’s washing water. The system uses caustic soda to clean the exhaust gas. The water content of the residual sludge from the patented water treatment process is very low and therefore minimizes the amount of waste. The scrubber can alternatively be used in an open loop mode with sea water.

The DeltaLangh scrubber, originally developed by Langh Ship, has already been in operation for one year onboard M/S Laura, a 6500 DWT general cargo vessel equipped with a 6 MW main engine. "The exhaust gas cleaning technology onboard M/S Laura was accepted already earlier but now also the documentation is finalised and officially classed by Germanishcer Lloyd," commented Robert Segercrantz, Managing Director at DeltaLangh.

"Without interruptions or down times, the DeltaLangh scrubber has proved its full functionality in operation on M/S Laura year round, even during Baltic winter and ice conditions," remarked Laura Langh-Lagerlöf, Commercial Manager at Langh Ship.

Image: Langh Ship's M/S Laura