Asia/Pacific News
Chinese Dual-Fuel LNG Carriers to use MAN Diesel Engines
A consortium of shipping companies has ordered 30 dual-fuel engines for six Chinese liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, according to MAN Diesel & Turbo, which will supply the engines.
The vessels will be the first large LNG carriers with dual fuel diesel electric (DFDE) configurations built in China.
The MAN 51/60DF engines will allow the ships to comply with International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Tier II rules in diesel mode and will have exhaust-gas emissions below IMO Tier III requirements in gas mode.
They will also be able to use fuel-sharing, allowing them to run on a mixture of gas and fuel oil.
"This order is yet another success for the 51/60DF's fuel-sharing capability, a special feature and one of the reasons we have especially focused on LNG carrier applications with the 51/60DF unit," said Erwin Boijmans, sales manager for the Marine Medium Speed business unit.
"This Chinese order comes on the back of another milestone LNGC order with the same configuration we recently landed in Japan and augurs well for the future."
The consortium was formed by Sinopec Kantons, Mitsui O.S.K Lines Ltd. (MOL), and China Shipping subsidiary CSLNG.
The vessels, which will each have a payload of 174,000 cubic meters, will be constructed at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai.
The ships, which will all be delivered by the end of 2017, will transport LNG from Gladstone, Australia to various Chinese import terminals.
The purchase of the ships, for about $1.2 billion, has been cited as an indication of new interest in LNG in the Chinese shipping industry.
