MAN ME-GI engines in EPS newbuilds will feature new LNG fuel supply solution

Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) has exercised an option that adds a further six 15,000 TEU containerships to five that it ordered at South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI in November 2017.

All eleven ships will be powered by MAN B&W two-stroke engines, but while the first five ships will be conventionally fueled the latest six will operate on LNG.

MAN Energy Solutions reports that the first five engines will be conventional MAN B&W 11G90ME-C units equipped with scrubbers that are due for delivery between 2019-2020. The additional six units will be built as MAN B&W 11G90ME-GI dual-fuel configurations operating on LNG with delivery dates scheduled between 2020-2022.

“We’re very pleased to have landed this significant order within such a key segment and in the face of stiff competition,” said Bjarne Foldager – Senior Vice President, Head of Two-Stroke Business at MAN Energy Solutions. “We currently have 55 ME-GI engines in service that have logged over 265,000 running hours, as a result of which the ME-GI engine has become an industry standard. I thank Eastern Pacific for placing its trust in our technology.”

Each of the six ME-GI engines will feature MAN Energy Solutions’ new pump vaporizer unit (PVU), an innovative, low-cost pump unit for the supply of LNG to the ME-GI engines.

“We’re also very happy that Eastern Pacific has chosen our new pump vaporizer unit, which makes the fuel gas-supply system installation significantly more compact,” said Foldager. “Apart from the reduced cost and weight, ordering both PVU and engine from the same designer provides many other advantages, including easier integration and straightforward installation.”

MAN Energy Solutions has over 200 ME-GI units on its order books or already in service, with references in every major marine segment, with 250 plus sales within its entire portfolio of dual-fuel engines – all running on LNG or other, clean fuels such as LPG and methanol

The PVU

MAN Energy Solutions has developed the PVU as a standardized, compact, high-quality pump unit for the supply of LNG to MAN B&W two-stroke ME-GI engines.

The PVU is designed to pressurize and vaporize the required fuel to the pressure and temperature required by the ME-GI engine. The gas pressure is controlled by control of hydraulic flow to the pump. The separate control of the three pump heads provides full redundancy and is secured by a control system with safety functions and a high degree of integration with the ME-GI engine.