MAN Diesel & Turbo "Fuel-Saving" Propellor Installed on Newly Launched 58,500 DWT Bulker

The 58,500 DWT Supramax bulk carrier is said to be the first of a series of eight to receive the MAN Alpha Kappel FP propeller.

The MAN Group (MAN) has announced that MAN Diesel & Turbo's new bunker saving MAN Alpha Kappel FP propeller has seen one of its first commercial applications in the Elsabeth C, a 58,500 DWT Supramax bulk carrier owned by Frontmarine Co. Ltd (Frontmarine).

MAN says that Lemissoler Navigation Co. Ltd. (Lemissoler), which manages Frontmarine, reports that "the Kappel propeller offers significant fuel savings compared to conventional propellers and, together with the new vessels’ design and lines as well as the silyl acrylate antifouling paint, contributed to the favourable results from the first two vessels’ sea trials."

The vessel, which is scheduled for delivery in September 2015, is said to have been built by New Times Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in Jiangsu, China and was designed to have the "largest carrying capacity and greatest efficiency" among the 190 metre LOA range of vessels.

“A key point during the design stage was to address the problem experienced by similar vessels that experience an overly-small light running margin (LRM),” said Thomas Leander, Head of Propulsion at MAN Diesel & Turbo.

“Therefore, MAN Diesel & Turbo recently introduced new light running margins for all FP propellers and two-stroke engines of 4-10 percent."

Elsabeth C is said to be the first in a series of eight sister-ships, all set to feature the single MAN B&W 5S60ME-C8.2 engines, with the second vessel in the series, Mirela, reported to have just finished sea trials. 

“The propeller layout for these 58,500 DWT vessels is 3-4 percent higher than normally applied to these vessel types.

“In doing so, MAN Diesel & Turbo has managed to ensure safe and reliable operation, while improving the vessel’s efficiency and manoeuvrability during its entire lifetime,” Leander added.

In August, it was reported that MAN Diesel & Turbo said that it had not seen demand decrease for its Kappel propeller despite the longer return on investment period as a result of lower bunker prices.