Ethane two-strokes reach 10k milestone

The MAN B&W ME-GIE engines, onboard the 36.5000m3 carriers operated by German ship manager Hartmann Reederei, have been in service since late 2017. The vessels Gaschem Beluga and Gaschem Orca transport ethane from the US to European refineries to produce ethylene.

According to Ulrich Adami, fleet manager, Hartmann Reederei, the engines have been run on ethane fuel for around 98% of the vessels’ sailing time. “The ME-GIE is very reliable and the propulsion system performs well, with an even better fuel consumption than predicted. Our charterers are happy with the positive budget implications that have come with being able to exploit the fuel on board,” he added.

MAN Diesel & Turbo will continue to develop the engines and is currently working to reduce the consumption of pilot fuel oil. The company ultimately hopes to cut pilot fuel to just 1% of fuel burned, said René Sejer Laursen, sales & promotion manager, MAN Diesel & Turbo.

“Our inspections of the cylinder liners on both sides of the Atlantic have shown that they still look like brand new,” Laursen added.

The ME-GIE engine can run on ethane or a mixture of LPG and methane. The mixture can include a maximum of 50% LPG so far, although MAN’s investigations suggest that a greater proportion can be used.

Hartmann, which ordered the LEGs in partnership with Norwegian group Ocean Yield, is also part of the JHW consortium that ordered five 85,000m3 very large ethane carriers (VLECs) in 2016. The vessels will be the largest ethane carriers ever constructed and will each be powered by a MAN B&W 6G60ME-GIE main engine.

The current LEG carriers host a propulsion package from MAN that includes an AT3000 remote control system, a VBS 1350 ODS Mk5 controllable pitch propeller, a rudder bulb and a shaft generator with a frequency converter that enables it to run on variable speed between 80-100 rpm. The ME-GIE engine also features MAN’s newly developed pump vaporizer unit (PVU), which replaces third-party fuel-gas supply systems and offers low installation costs, smaller space requirement and full pump redundancy.