World News
MAN Dual-Fuel Gas Injection Ethane Engine Passes Onboard Trials
MAN Diesel & Turbo SE (MAN) today announced that the world’s first ME-Gas Injection Ethane (GIE) two-stroke engine has passed gas trials onboard the liquefied ethylene gas (LEG) carrier Gaschem Beluga.
The Mitsui-MAN B&W 7G50ME-C9.5-GIE unit is the first in a series of two engines to be utilised as main propulsion in two 36,000 cubic metre (cbm) LEG carriers ordered by Hartmann Reederei (Hartmann) and Ocean Yield ASA (Ocean Yield).
"The reports from the ME-GIE trials and first operational experiences are very encouraging and confirm our faith in this groundbreaking technology," said René Sejer Laursen, Sales & Promotion Manager at MAN.
The news comes just two months after MAN announced that the first ME-GIE ethane combusting two-stroke engine had been delivered from MAN licensee Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (MES) in Japan.
MAN says ethane was chosen as fuel in the LEG carriers over HFO because it has more competitive pricing, as well as a similar emissions profile to methane - containing negligible sulfur and comparatively lower CO2.
"The negligible fuel slip of the ME-GI engine makes it the most environmentally friendly, two-stroke technology available," said MAN.
"MAN Diesel & Turbo sees significant opportunities in the development of the ME-GIE as the engine can also run on almost any form of waste gas."
MAN notes that such gases could be the light hydrocarbons or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from crude oil during storage and during the loading and unloading of crude oil.
"This opens the door for new applications for the engine in, for example, shuttle tankers, for power generation in remote power plants, or in off-shore applications – such as floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs) – where VOC is abundant and poses a potential environmental hazard," said MAN.
MAN says it currently has eight ME-GIE engines on order.
As Ship & Bunker has reported, while the ME-GIE engine is primarily designed for the combustion of ethane gas, MAN says research shows that it is also possible to operate the engine on other gas types.
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 647.00 | 8.50 | 779.00 | 29.50 |
| Rotterdam | 608.00 | 11.00 | 764.50 | 24.50 |
| Houston | 636.50 | 8.00 | 807.50 | 5.00 |
| Fujairah | 649.50 | 4.00 | 888.50 | 11.50 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 665.50 | 6.50 | 870.50 | 14.50 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 635.50 | 3.50 | 810.00 | 17.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 725.00 | 2.50 | 925.50 | 8.00 |
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