NYK delivers methanol-fuelled chemical tanker with water-in-fuel solution

NYK Bulkship (Asia), an NYK Group company based in Singapore, signed a long-term time charter contract with Waterfront Shipping Company Limited for two newly built chemical carriers in 2020. An earlier vessel, Takaroa Sun, a methanol carrier powered by a MAN Energy Solutions second-generation B&W ME-LGIM two-stroke dual-fuel engine was delivered in 2019.

Under the management of NYK Shipmanagement, the vessel will be engaged in a long-term charter contract with Waterfront Shipping Limited, a subsidiary company of Methanex Corporation, the world’s largest methanol producer.

The Seymour Sun is noteworthy as is features one of the first commercial references of a dual-fuel B&W ME-LGIM engine to be equipped with a water-in-fuel solution. When sailing on methanol, the solution suppresses the production of NOx by adding water to methanol to lower its temperature during combustion. 

As a result, the vessel can comply with the IMO’s Tier III NOx emission standard without the need for an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system and a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) device.

MAN Energy Solution’s Peter Quaade previously told The Motorship that the LGIM-W aftertreatment system offered particular advantages for engines operating on methanol, owing to the smaller footprint of the LGIM-W system and the lower operational cost compared with SCR solutions. Operational costs were reported to be competitive with EGR systems, while auxiliary requirements were optimised.

The water in fuel solution introduces an additional requirement for a water tank, but as there are no miscibility issues between methanol and water, it eliminates the need for a separate surfactant reservoir.

Vessel Particulars – Seymour Sun