Tag: methanol

New US and Middle East methanol production capacity being added over the next two years will have serious implications for chemical shipping trade flow patterns, according to the latest edition of the Chemical Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.

  Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has ordered methanol carriers with the world's first methanol burned dual-fueled low-speed diesel main engine. This engine building has already been completed, and its manufacturer, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (MES), has test-operated the unit using methanol fuel in Tamano Works, and confirmed that it met expected performance. MOL ordered methanol carriers, which will be equipped with this diesel main engine, from Minaminippon Shipbuilding. The vessels will be delivered in 2016, and serve for Waterfront Shipping Company under a long-term charter contract. By burning methanol with this diesel main engine, emissions of CO2 and NOx are significantly less when burning methanol rather than fuel oil. Thus, methanol is an important fuel that does not include SOx and can replace fuel oil and thereby place fewer burdens on the environment. Besides using methanol to drive the main engine, the new vessel will be one of the first to install the ballast water treatment system and energy saving devices fitted in front and behind the propellers to help improve fuel efficiency. In other words, this new vessel will offer very eco-friendly performance. MOL will expand its methanol transport service by meeting a broad range of customer needs with use ...

  Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (MES) – the MAN Diesel & Turbo licensee – recently demonstrated the liquid-gas-injection concept successfully in Japan. The successful demonstration took place on 17 June, 2015 using the very first ME-LGI engine to ever be commercially produced. The engine, with the type designation 7S50ME-B9.3-LGI, is bound for a vessel currently under construction by Minaminippon Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. for Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. Ole Grøne, Senior Vice President – Low Speed Promotion & Sales – MAN Diesel & Turbo described the event as a significant milestone in the development of Diesel technology and said: “The immediate market acceptance of our ME-GI (Gas Injection) engine confirmed the growing demand for low-sulphur, non-HFO options in the face of increasingly stricter sulphur limits in fuel. In turn, extending our dual-fuel engine programme with an ME-LGI unit that can run on liquid fuels was therefore a natural step.” He continued: “The interest in our ME-LGI engine confirms this dual-fuel, lowspeed trend and will offer even more alternatives to HFO, which – apart from methanol – will include LPG, dimethyl ether (DME), and (bio-) ethanol, as well as several other, low-sulphur, low-flashpoint fuels.” Grøne concluded: “We welcome our partners’ interest in ...

  John Kokarakis, VP Engineering, Bureau Veritas presentation during the 2015 GREEN4SEA Forum The tsunami of emission related regulations and the need for environmental friendliness also dictates the utilization of alternate fuels less polluting than HFO. The star player is LNG but  not the only player though. Future ships will burn a variety of fuels; hydrogen, synthetic fuels and biofuels will be chosen depending on the characteristic of the ship.   Nowadays, we are facing an utterly confusing and conflicting tsunami of fuel regulations. Fuel is the most expensive OPEX item and plays an important role in defining the future of the shipping industry. The drivers for new marine fuels are: regulations, financial considerations and available technology. In the future, there is going to be coexistence of multiple fuels. Be aware that the wrong fuel choice has major impact on commercial performance of the vessel. Pioneer owners may be confronted with unforeseen technical issues costing time and money. However shipping thrives through innovation and technology development. The fact that the charterer pays the fuel removes the motivation from the owners to use alternative fuels. Lack of bunkering facilities and supply chains are barriers for the introduction of new “exotic” fuels. Due to ...

  Stena Line has chosen to focus on the alternative fuel, methanol, and now the world's first methanol powered ferry, the Stena Germanica, has been launched, which operates on the route Kiel–Gothenburg. On 26 March, the Stena Germanica re-entered service after a couple of months' intermission. Now, as the world's first methanol powered ferry. Stena Line is thus the first shipping company to operate with environmentally friendly methanol as the main fuel. On Friday the 27ththere was an inauguration ceremony in Kiel and today, Monday the 30thof March there was a ceremony in Gothenburg "We are very enthusiastic about methanol's possibilities and it has the potential to be the maritime fuel of the future. We want to pursue change and development in the shipping sector and, with the Stena Germanica, our environmental impact will be completely different to what the industry has seen before," Carl-Johan Hagman says. Methanol is a biodegradable, environmentally friendly and cost efficient fuel that reduces the emissions of sulphur and particles by 99 percent. The ferry's fuel system and engines have been adapted in the shipyard in a collaboration between Stena Line and Wärtsilä. The technology is called dual fuel – methanol is the main fuel, ...

On 17 March, 2015 at MAN Diesel & Turbo’s Diesel Research Centre in Copenhagen, the company successfully demonstrated the ME-LGI concept in front of existing ME-LGI customers and partners, including Westfal-Larsen, Marinvest, Waterfront Shipping/Methanex, MES, HHI-EMD, MOL, and Minaminippon. For the purposes of the event, the company rebuilt its 50MX test engine to an ME-LGI unit. Vice President and Head of R&D, Søren H. Jensen, said: “Attendees showed great interest in the demonstration and the accompanying technical presentations; their feedback has been very positive.” He continued: “A number of years ago we identified the need to develop an engine that could run on more environmentally-friendly, competitively-priced fuels as an alternative to MDO/MGO. We believe the ability of the ME-LGI engine to run on sulphur-free fuels offers great potential. Methanol carriers have already operated at sea for many years. With a viable, convenient and economic fuel already on-board, exploiting a fraction of the cargo to power a vessel makes sense.” To date, MAN Diesel & Turbo has received orders for 7 × ME-LGI engines – a mixture of 7S50ME-LGI and 6G50ME-LGI variants – from Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Marinvest and Westfal-Larsen. The very first engine will be produced by Mitsui Engineering & ...

First Ship with Fire Safety Adapted to Methanol