We spoke with Sean Moran from the Moran Yacht & Ship New Construction team to learn key insights into this full custom-build project with Lurssen.
Tell us about the big challenges facing your team on this project.
As the 3rd Lurssen new build project for a client we have worked with for over 30 years, quality expectations were extremely high for the JAG project. While his past two vessels were spectacular, the yacht-building process is iterative, and many innovative improvements and new technologies were incorporated into JAG. With a background in the automotive business, the client was interested in green technology, including the ability to operate the boat silently, meaning propelling the boat without using a combustion engine for an extended period. Our team spent much time and energy creating a power management system to achieve this goal. We had to figure out where to put the extra power bank, how to counterbalance the weight and determine the correct size of the switchboard and converters. The owner will eventually be able to propel the vessel with just the battery bank for 30 to 40 minutes, despite the limitations of current technology and weight and space restrictions.
Can you explain how PTO technology works?
The official term is a PTO/PTI system; however, I call it “hybrid” propulsion. The PTO (Power Take-Off) technique uses excess mechanical energy from the vessel’s drive shafts and transforms it into electrical energy. The electrical energy is then used to power onboard systems, reducing the loads on generators, and ultimately reducing fuel consumption. To give a recent example, ENTOURAGE, the 197’/ 60m Amels never turned on their generators while crossing to the Mediterranean this past spring. They relied solely on power from the shafts to power their hotel load. We have used this system on our last four new build projects, and the fuel savings can be substantial.
What other efficiency gains were achieved on this project?
After testing various demand requirements, we were able to achieve more energy efficiency with a peak load leveling system and battery bank. This battery bank is solely responsible for covering peak load demands, and it smooths out the power production curve so you don’t have sharp increases and decreases in power production. Another efficiency gain comes from capturing condensation coming off air handler units. We found that if the water is treated and filtered properly, around 7,000 liters of water can be collected a day – that’s 7 tons of water produced without the power consumption of running the vessel’s water makers. Our team is always looking for these small efficiency gains—2% here, 3% there. As we run through all of the vessel’s systems, the little efficiencies developed here and there add up to massive reductions in energy demand and, ultimately, lower fuel consumption over the vessel’s life.
Are you incorporating insights from building AHPO into this design, and how does your team stay current with ever-changing systems and technologies?
Absolutely—there is an incredible advantage to working with our new build team, who are responsible for the development and delivery of 65 new build projects over the last 35 years. The lessons learned, and efficiencies gained benefit every project going forward, and this is certainly the case with AHPO’s influence on the JAG project. Our job is to synthesize all lessons into core principles that we can incorporate into our next project. There are aspects of AHPO that can be seen in both the layout and engineering platform on JAG—there is similar architecture. Much like the owner of AHPO, the owner of JAG is always at the forefront of engineering. He’s always pushing the envelope and asking what is possible. It’s our job to figure out a way to implement his ideas while making sure they remain commercially viable. We, as an organization, are always researching and asking suppliers what is possible: asking what is on the bleeding edge. I think we’ve managed to thread the needle well with all of our projects, balancing what is possible with what is plausible.
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