TOTE order is first for MAN’s LNG-fueled low speed engine

DECEMBER 6, 2012 — The two LNG fueled containerships ordered at NASSCO by TOTE have given MAN Diesel & Turbo its first order for its low-speed, dual-fuel ME-GI engine. The two 3,100 TEU vessels will each be powered by 8L70ME-GI dual-fuel gas-powered engines and will be powered primarily by liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Ole Grøne, Senior Vice President Low-Speed Sales and Promotions, MAN Diesel & Turbo, said: “Our experience with two-stroke, dual-fuel engines stretches back to the 1990s. With the current developments in fuel prices and multiple customer requests for a solution, the momentum towards the development of a commercial, low-speed dual-fuel engine became unstoppable. We see this order as a natural culmination, and see the ME-GI as the beginning of a significant new era.”

Unveiled at a major event at MAN Diesel & Turbo’s Copenhagen Diesel Research Center in May 2011, the ME-GI engine is the culmination of many years’ work that began in the 1990s with the company’s prototype MC-GI dual-fuel engine that entered service at a power plant in Chiba, near Tokyo, Japan in 1994.

Depending on relative price and availability, as well as environmental considerations, the ME-GI engine gives shipowners and operators the option of using either HFO or gas – predominantly natural gas but also, eventually, LPG.

MAN Diesel & Turbo sees significant opportunities arising for gas-fueled tonnage as fuel prices rise and exhaust-emission limits tighten. Indeed, previous research indicates that the ME-GI engine delivers significant reductions in CO2, NOx and SOx emissions. Furthermore, the ME-GI engine has no methane slip, and it is therefore the most environmental friendly technology available.

MAN Diesel & Turbo predicts a broad, potential market for its ME-GI engine, extending from LNG and LPG carriers to other oceangoing vessel segments such as containerships as well as ships plying a fixed trade. It says the ME-GI engine represents a highly efficient, flexible, propulsion-plant solution.