Two Ocean-Going Methanol-Fueled Newbuilds Join Waterfront Fleet

Canadian transportation company Waterfront Shipping Company, part of Methanex Corporation, and shipping and investment group Marinvest/Skagerack Invest (Marinvest) have welcomed two new, clean-burning vessels to the Waterfront fleet.

M/T Mari Couva and M/T Mari Kokako were launched in Ulsan, Korea, on August 16, 2019.

Owned by a joint venture between Waterfront and Marinvest, they will be chartered by Waterfront to replace the company’s older tonnage.

The 49,000 dwt vessels are built with the second generation of MAN B&W ME-LGIM two stroke dual-fuel engines that can run on both methanol and conventional marine fuels.

Built at South Korean Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, the newbuilds join the seven existing methanol-fueled vessels chartered by Waterfront Shipping. The first three ships were delivered in April 2016 and the remaining four later that year.

As explained, these vessels have surpassed more than 50,000 operating hours running on methanol in compliance with IMO 2020 emissions regulations. The two new vessels – together with an additional two vessels that will be delivered to Waterfront Shipping by year-end – are also able to meet IMO Tier III emissions standards without the need for exhaust gas after treatment.

“We are very excited by the performance of our first seven methanol-fuelled vessels that have proven the safety and reliability of the technology. With this second generation of vessels, we will benefit from innovative technological advances that will continue to optimize performance and efficiency,” Paul Hexter, President at Waterfront Shipping, commented.

“On an energy-equivalent basis, methanol is cost competitive over energy price cycles and we see significant value creation opportunities from using a methanol flex-fuel engine. We are proud that approximately 40 percent of our fleet will be powered by methanol-fuel technology by the end of the year.”

“Our first two methanol-powered ships were delivered in 2016, and each now has more than 10,000 successful running hours on methanol with no issues that have resulted in off-hire or idle time,” Patrik Mossberg, Chairman at Marinvest, said.

“It is important that we share our experiences and make the industry aware that methanol is a well-proven, simple-to-adopt solution offering compliance with IMO 2020 regulations and provides a pathway to meeting IMO 2030 and 2050 CO2 emission targets.”

Methanol is one of the world’s most widely traded chemicals and is available globally at major ports, providing a cost-effective solution to meet the needs of shipowners today. Safe, biodegradable and clean-burning, methanol is a marine fuel that can meet the most stringent environmental regulations. In addition to IMO 2020-compliant SOx emissions and the ability to meet Tier III NOx regulations without exhaust aftertreatment, methanol can also provide a pathway to meeting future carbon emission reduction targets when it is produced from renewable sources.

“We are … very happy to collaborate once again with Methanex, whose vessels have showcased the benefits of operating on methanol and that meeting Tier III limits is possible through mixing methanol with water. Furthermore, a methanol-burning engine can enable the vessels to meet future greenhouse-gas emission standards as methanol can be produced in a carbon-neutral fashion from renewable sources,” René Sejer Laursen, Promotion Manager at MAN Energy Solutions, said.

Read more:

In Depth: Methanol Is Ready for Use as Marine Fuel

Study Supports Case for Methanol as Sustainable Marine Fuel

MethaShip: Renewable Methanol Is ‘Fuel with a Future’

Green Maritime Methanol Project Starts with Nine Ships