Twin tankers pass methanol milestone

View of the first-generation MAN B&W ME-LGIM engine aboard the Mari Jones, the dual-fuel, methanol-powered tanker delivered to Waterfront Shipping in 2016. As can be seen, the engine room is noticeably spotless (picture courtesy Marinvest)

Swedish ship management company Marinvest reports that its Mari Jone and Mari Boyle, two of the first vessels powered by dual-fuel ME-LGIM (-Liquid Gas Injection Methanol) engines have each passed 10,000 operating hours on methanol. Additionally, Marinvest’s combined ME-LGI-powered fleet has passed a cumulative total of 50,000 operating hours on methanol.

The two 49,999 dwt tankers are managed on timecharters for Waterfront Shipping, a subsidiary of Vancouver, Canada, headquartered Methanex, the world’s largest producer and supplier of methanol. They operate globally, providing an uninterrupted flow of methanol between storage terminals and customer plants.

Bjarne Foldager – Senior Vice President, Head of Two-Stroke Business at MAN Energy Solutions – said: “The successful passing of this significant milestone is testament to the ME-LGI’s strong concept, and indeed the strength of our dual-fuel portfolio as a whole. With well over 250 sales within MAN Energy Solutions’ entire portfolio of low-speed, dual-fuel engines – all running on clean fuels such as methanol, LPG or LNG – this new achievement stands testament to our leadership within a critical market segment.”

René Sejer Laursen – Sales & Promotion Manager, MAN Energy Solutions – said: “When introducing methanol as a two-stroke marine fuel, we encountered the usual teething problems, including addressing the liner lubrication because of methanol’s potentially corrosive behavior. However, the service experience gathered after 50,000 hours of cumulative operation has ironed all such problems out and the ME-LGI engines are now running smoothly with no maintenance issues. In fact, they are even showing an improvement in fuel efficiency.”

MAN Energy Solutions developed the ME-LGIM dual-fuel engine for operation on methanol, heavy fuel oil (HFO), marine diesel oil (MDO), or marine gas oil (MGO). The engine is based on the company’s proven ME-series, with its approximately 5,000 engines in service, and works according to the diesel principle as methanol is a low-flashpoint, liquid fuel. When operating on methanol, the ME-LGI uses HFO, MDO, or MGO as a pilot fuel, significantly reducing emissions of CO2, NOx and SOx, and eliminates methanol slip. Additionally, any operational switch between methanol and other fuels is seamless.

Tests on the engine, when running on methanol, have recorded the same or a slightly better efficiency compared to conventional HFO-burning engines.