Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore (BV) and maritime technology firm Wartsila have announced a collaboration to assess new hybrid-electric LNG carrier designs to optimise propulsion. 

The initiative was unveiled at the LNG2026 event taking at Doha this week, BV said in a statement on its website on Monday. 

Under the joint development project, conventional LNG carrier designs will be compared with hybrid-electric concepts developed by Wartsila and its partners, using BV’s ship energy efficiency calculation analysis tool, SEECAT.

The hybrid-electric concept is designed to optimise propulsion while reducing total installed power, while keeping vessel size and tonnage broadly in line with traditional LNG carriers. The partners said the design could also allow for increased cargo capacity.

For shipowners, shipyards and operators, the concept is intended to support modular upgrades and easier integration of future energy-saving technologies, including batteries and peak-shaving solutions.

BV said SEECAT will allow owners to compare the hybrid-electric concept with other LNG carrier designs as regulatory and decarbonisation requirements evolve.