MAN bags engine order for Maersk’s methanol-fueled boxship

German engine manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions has won an order to supply “the world’s first, low-speed, dual-fuel engine to run on methanol within the container segment.”

As informed, the 2,100 TEU vessel will be constructed at South Korean shipyard Hyundai Mipo Dockyard for the shipping major, A.P. Møller – Maersk.

Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Engine & Machinery Division (HHI-EMD) will be in charge of building the MAN B&W 6G50ME liquid gas injection methanol (LGIM) type engine, which is expected to be compliant with International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Tier III standards.

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

Moreover, Mærsk has announced that it expects the new vessel to be powered by green methanol with bio-fuel employed as pilot oil.

The vessel is planned 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 Bay of Botnia.

“Our …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,” Bjarne Foldager, Senior Vice President and Head of Two-Stroke Business, MAN Energy Solutions, said.

MAN Energy Solutions said that its low-speed, dual-fuel references now exceed  408 units, with the ME-LGI platform accumulating more than 110,000 dual-fuel running hours.