MAN confirms first methanol engine order for containership market

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The 2,100 teu newbuilding will join 3,596 teu Vistula Maersk (pictured) in service in Maersk-owned Sealand Europe’s feeder connection between Northern Europe and Bay of Botnia ports.

HHI-EMD will build the MAN B&W 6G50ME-LGIM engine (pictured), the first destined to power a methanol-fuelled vessel that doesn’t carry methanol as cargo. (credit: MAN ES)

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MAN notes that HHI-EMD already has extensive experience with the construction of LGIM engines (8 engines in operation and 12 engines under construction for methanol carriers). The engine will be Tier III-compliant.

Upon launch, the newbuilding will become the first methanol-powered vessel that doesn’t carry methanol as cargo.

Mærsk has further announced that it expects the new vessel to be powered by green methanol with bio-fuel employed as pilot oil. The vessel is set to enter service in 2023 and will sail in the network of Sealand Europe – a Maersk company- the Baltic shipping route between Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea.

Bjarne Foldager, Senior Vice President and Head of Two-Stroke Business, MAN Energy Solutions, said: “Maersk is displaying great leadership in adopting renewable methanol as part of its decarbonisation strategy – and well ahead of its initial 2030-ambition. For our part, we are designing dual-fuel technology that meets the growing customer demand for sustainable shipping chains and, here, our ME-LGIM engine plays an important role. It’s particularly pleasing to see it make its debut within the important container segment.”

Foldager continued: “Our other ME-LGIM references have proven methanol as a clean, efficient and safe, marine fuel that offers a clear path to decarbonisation through significant greenhouse-gas reductions, when produced from renewable energy sources. In general, as we move towards a zero-carbon future, MAN Energy Solutions’ dual-fuel engine portfolio is well positioned to handle whatever alternative fuels the market brings.”

MAN Energy Solutions states that its low-speed, dual-fuel references now exceed 408 units, with the ME-GI recording over 1.7 million operating hours on LNG alone, while the ME-LGI platform has accumulated more than 110,000 dual-fuel running hours.