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Double-walled pipelines facilitate the introduction of new maritime fuels
by: SAMI J. ANTEROINEN
New, more sustainable fuels are slowly changing the marine industry. Methanol, ammonia and hydrogen are among the fuels used to power the next-gen ships.
Uwira, an innovative Finnish pipeline manufacturer, delivers pipeline solutions to ships looking to deploy new fuels. Sales & Sustainability Director Samuli Kuusisto points out that Uwira has decades of experience in producing advanced pipeline solutions for high demand maritime markets.
“ We continue the development of new concepts for sustainable fuels,” he says.
Uwira’ s modular solutions use double-walled pipes that guarantee safe transfer of hazardous fuels, such as methanol. Methanol, however, requires high pressure to work:
“ Our pipeline solution for medium speed engines is able to deal with high pressure and pressure fluctuations,” promises Kuusisto.“ With the experience we have gathered so far, we can say that we can have design pressures of up to 1,800 bar, with materials that can handle a variety of different fuels.”
Director of Development Thomas Hägglund and Sales & Sustainability Director Samuli Kuusisto from Uwira.
The company’ s double-walled pipes is frequently a challenge on ships. We are are made of materials such as steel, stainless steel, Duplex, and Super-Duplex Stain- every case,” he says.
able to find the technical solutions for
less Steel.
According to Hägglund, two major
themes keep surfacing in the discussions DOUBLE-WALLS REQUIRE RARE with potential customers:
KNOW-HOW
“ Finding a solution that can withstand the mechanical stress and handle
Thomas Hägglund, Uwira’ s Director of Development, says that building doublewalled pipes onboard ships requires very issues and feasibility.”
the specific fuel is crucial, along with safety specific expertise.
“ We have expertise in design validation, pre-fabrication and onboard installa-
“ Dealing with high vibrations and acoustic pressure waves due to long pipes tion to make it work,” he adds.
22 seatec 1 / 2026