MAN Energy Solutions (MAN ES) has announced that China Merchants Heavy Industry has ordered two MAN B&W 7S60ME-LGIM engines, marking the first order for the methanol variant of the engine and the first to be constructed by a Chinese manufacturer.
The engines will be installed on two 9,300 CEU (car equivalent units) pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) under construction for China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES). In another milestone for MAN ES, this is the first contract for a methanol-fuelled engine for a PCTC.
The engines will feature MAN ES’ proprietary Exhaust Gas Recirculation system.
Engine manufacturer, CSE, will construct the engines in China with delivery of the two vessels slated for 2025 and 2026, respectively. The order also includes an option for an additional four vessels.
Bjarne Foldager, Head of Two-Stroke Business, MAN Energy Solutions, commented: ‘Interest in using methanol in ocean-going vessels is at an all-time high, especially in the container vessel segment but also in the vehicle-transport sector whose main players are moving to expand capacity driven by very strong, Chinese car sales, and to renew their fleets in response to new emission regulations.
‘Thus, with this order, CMES is simultaneously expanding its business and improving its sustainable profitability. While LNG has been the most popular alternative fuel within the PCTC segment, CMES is one of the first movers to methanol, which we expect will figure prominently as a future fuel in the maritime energy transition across all vessel segments.’
