LNG Engines for Feeder Containerships

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday September 9, 2014

Wärtsilä Corp. (Wärtsilä) says a series of 1,400 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) feeder containerships ordered by GNS Shipping GmbH & Co KG for use in Europe will be the first to use its 2-stroke, low pressure, dual-fuel technology.

The ship owner, managed by Nordic Hamburg, has made four firm orders, with the possibility of additions to the series, at the Yangzhou Guoyu Shipbuilding yard in China.

The ships, scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2016, will operate on a long-term charter contract with Finland's Containerships OY.

The ships will feature 7-cylinder Wärtsilä RT-flex50DF main engines, an engine type designed to allow for gas fuel operation of almost any type of vessel, and to meet IMO Tier III regulations without the use of scrubbers.

"This is an engine that really makes a positive difference to the global shipping sector," said Rolf Stiefel, director of 2 Stroke Sales for Wärtsilä Ship Power.

"It not only meets the Tier III requirements when operating with gas fuel, but it also offers considerable CAPEX and OPEX savings."

Rowil Ponta, managing partner of Nordic Hamburg Group, said the engines fit the company's economic and environmental needs.

"We are confident that the LNG concept pioneered together with Wärtsilä for these feeder container vessels will make a difference to the container trade in Europe, and will remind people that shipping is an innovative industry with the smallest possible ecological footprint when it comes to the transport of goods," he said.

Wärtsilä launched the 2-stroke, dual-fuel engine type last year.