MAN Energy Solutions has won the contract to supply individual MAN B&W ME-LGIP (Liquid Gas Injection Propane) dual-fuel engines to 3 × 5,000-m3 LPG tankers currently under construction by CIMC-SOE (CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering Co., Ltd.) in Shanghai for Hartmann Gas Carrier, the German shipping company.
Each newbuilding will receive a propulsion package featuring 1 × 5S35ME-LGIP engine with an Alpha controllable pitch propeller, power take-off (PTO) and propulsion control system (PCS). MAN Energy Solutions states that it also expects to introduce its new Triton control platform with the engines.
MAN Energy Solutions’ two-stroke licensee, CMD, will construct the engines in Lingang, China with delivery scheduled during the latter half of 2021. The contract contains an option for two further vessels.
The new order is the latest in a series for the ME-LGIP engine. Among these, Oslo-based BW LPG recently exercised an option for further conversions of HFO-burning engines from its fleet to the dual-fuel type. This happened in the wake of the first ME-LGIP retrofit engine enjoying a successful TAT (Type Approval Test) at the works of MAN Energy Solutions’ two-stroke licensee, STX HI, in Korea.
Bjarne Foldager – Senior Vice President, Head of Two-Stroke Business at MAN Energy Solutions – said: “After the success of our dual-fuel ME-GI engine running on ethane, orders for our ME-LGIP variant capable of running on LPG are now taking off – a situation we are very pleased with. That the engines in this order form part of an MAN Energy Solutions’ package fits perfectly with our desire to increasingly supply complete propulsion solutions.”
Foldager continued: “Our low-speed, dual-fuel portfolio has now racked up over 1 million operating hours that owes everything to the strategy we have laid over the past decade and confirms our leadership within this critical marine segment. Our engines’ efficiency is the best in the market, which gives shipowners enormous flexibility, and we note that all fuel modes are employed.”
Lars Zimmermann, Senior Manager and Head of Two-Stroke Direct Sales, MAN Energy Solutions said: “Despite Hartmann expressing a strong preference for the ME-LGIP, we had to win this order in the face of very strong competition and are, naturally, very happy. The engine is a standard bearer for environmentally friendly, reliable propulsion technology with its seamless switching between fuels and the full rating and performance of the baseline, low-speed diesel engine.”