Hartmann orders ME-LGIP engines for newbuild LPG tanker trio

Written by Nick Blenkey
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The MAN B&W ME-LGIP engine was unveiled at a ceremony in Copenhagen in 2018

MAN Energy Solutions is to supply MAN B&W ME-LGIP (Liquid Gas Injection Propane) dual-fuel engines for three 5,000-cubic-meter LPG tankers currently under construction at the CIMC-SOE shipyard in Shanghai for Hartmann Gas Carriers in Leer, Germany.

Each newbuilding will have a propulsion package featuring one 5S35ME-LGIP engine with an Alpha controllable pitch propeller, power take-off (PTO) and propulsion control system (PCS). MAN Energy Solutions also expects to introduce its new Triton control platform with the engines.

The engines are set for delivery in the latter part of 2021 from MAN Energy Solutions’ two-stroke licensee CMD in Lingang, China, The contract contains an option for two further vessels.

The order is the latest in a series for the ME-LGIP engine and follows the exercise of an option by Oslo-based BW LPG for further conversions of HFO-burning engines from its fleet to dual-fuel. That came in the wake of the first ME-LGIP retrofit engine passing a TAT (Type Approval Test) at the works of MAN Energy Solutions’ two-stroke licensee, STX HI, in Korea.

“After the success of our dual-fuel ME-GI engine running on ethane, orders for our ME-LGIP variant capable of running on LPG are now taking off—a situation we are very pleased with,” said Bjarne Foldager, senior vice president, Head of Two-Stroke Business at MAN Energy Solutions. “That the engines in this order form part of an MAN Energy Solutions’ package fits perfectly with our desire to increasingly supply complete propulsion solutions.”

Noting that the company’s low-speed, dual-fuel portfolio has now racked up over one million operating hours, Foldager said accomplishment “owes everything to the strategy we have laid over the past decade and confirms our leadership within this critical marine segment. Our engines’ efficiency is the best in the market, which gives shipowners enormous flexibility, and we note that all fuel modes are employed.”

“Despite Hartmann expressing a strong preference for the ME-LGIP, we had to win this order in the face of very strong competition and are, naturally, very happy,” said Lars Zimmermann, senior manager and Head of Two-Stroke Direct Sales, MAN Energy Solutions. “The engine is a standard bearer for environmentally friendly, reliable propulsion technology with its seamless switching between fuels and the full rating and performance of the baseline, low-speed diesel engine.”

LPG AND THE ME-LGIP ENGINE

MAN Energy Solutions says that interest in using LPG as a fuel, within and outside of the LPG carrier segment, is growing due to its sulfur-free character, widespread availability and ease of bunkering. In gas mode, the ME-LGIP engine operates on just 3% pilot oil and down to 10% load. Ultimately, the company expects the engine to operate without the need for pilot oil.

The ME-LGIP engine can also burn liquid volatile organic compounds, a deliberate move by MAN, which says that “IMO will inevitably turn its focus towards the reduction of volatile organic compounds in the future.”
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MAN Energy Solutions also reports that the ME-LGIP engine has experienced an up to 18% reduction in CO2 and circa 90% reduction in particulate matter when running on LPG, compared with HFO.

The company’s ME-GI (Gas Injection) and ME-LGI engines form the core of its two-stroke, dual-fuel portfolio and have notched up many notable industry-firsts since their market introduction, including the very first oceangoing ships operating respectively on LNG, methanol, ethane and LPG. The company recently released a Mk II ME-GI model and, in response to market demand, is currently developing an Otto-cycle variant – the ME-GA.

TRITON

Based on the experience accumulated over more than 20 years in the development and production of mission-critical electronics, Triton is the new controller platform for MAN Energy Solutions’ entire, two-stroke engine portfolio and is a future-proof solution characterized by its modularity, flexibility and scalability.

Triton delivers extra computing power and a faster network and I/O flexibility to face future demands; it also crucially encompasses cyber security by design.

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