Japan’s Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding has completed the world’s first ME-GIE ethane-operated two-stroke diesel engine. The engines will be for propulsion of three ethylene carriers, which will also carry ethane as cargo.
The Mitsui-MAN B&W 7G50ME-C9.5-GIE is the first engine in a series of three for installation in three LEG (liquefied ethylene gas) carriers of 36,000 cu m for Hartmann Schiffahrt of Germany and Ocean Yield of Norway, being built at Sinopacific Offshore Engineering (SOE) in China.
MAN Diesel & Turbo reported that ethane was chosen as fuel, in preference to HFO, due to its more competitive pricing as well as the significantly shorter bunkering time it entails.
“As a fuel, its emissions profile is also superior to HFO – in which respect it is similar to methane – and compared to HFO contains negligible sulphur, 15-20% lower CO2 and emits significantly fewer particles during combustion,” MAN Diesel & Turbo said in a statement.
The ME-GI engines will be set up so that they can easily be converted to run on methane as an alternative, as per the owner’s wish.
MAN Diesel & Turbo currently has eight ME-GIE engines on order.
