The FAT (Factory Acceptance Test) of the first ME-GI engine in Japan recently took place at the Tamano Works of Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (MES). Overseen by the DNV GL classification society, the engine is the first of two 8S70ME-C8.2-GI units for delivery to VT Halter Marine of Mississippi, USA for installation aboard two 2,400-teu ConRo ships for Crowley Maritime Corporation, USAThe Crowley orderCrowley ordered the ME-GI engines, along with 3 × MAN 9L28/32DF auxiliary engines for each vessel, in early-2014.The ConRo ships – with container Lift-On/Lift-Off (LO/LO) and Roll-On/Roll-Off (RO/RO) – will be named ‘El Coquí’ and ‘Taíno’, and are scheduled for delivery in the second and fourth quarters of 2017, respectively.The vessels will be two of the world’s first LNG-powered ConRo ships, designed to travel at speeds up to 22 knots, and carry various sized containers, along with hundreds of vehicles in enclosed, weather-tight car decking.Crowley states that the vessels will offer customers fast ocean-transit times and, being powered by LNG, will set a new standard for environmentally responsible shipping.Crowley selected the high-pressure, Diesel-cycle ME-GI engines due to their high efficiency and power concentration. The ME-GI’s ability to avoid derating, and its negligible methane slip, also ...
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