MAN engines by fuel type show decarbonisation challenge

Rasmus Holm Bidstrup, MAN’s 2-stroke head of promotion, told The Motorship: “Availability of certain low carbon variants of fuels drives the ordering”, a refreshingly frank statement about future maritime fuels in light of issues such as bunkering.

Earlier this year, MAN hosted an event discussing its methanol-fueled 4-stroke engine, the MAN L27/38DF-M and the fuel also makes up for 13% of its 2-stroke engine orders. The company pointed out that it is also offering ammonia-fueled solutions for the industry-wide decarbonisation challenge.

The prohibitive costs of future fuels is the main factor as to why standard fuel oil makes up for nearly half the orders on MAN’s books in August. Bidstrup said that while the IMO has set out ambitious 2050 and mid-term greenhouse gas reduction goals, the exact market mechanism, likely a carbon tax, has still to be defined. In a market whereby using greener fuels would make the CAPEX of running a fleet more expensive, it’s little wonder why operators would stick to traditional if dirtier fuels.

MAN ES hosted a panel discussing the issues around retrofitting vessels with alternative fuels at SMM here and join us for our 45th Propulsion and Future Fuels event in November.