MAN Energy Solutions and Wessels Marine GmbH have announced a technical showcase where the 2017-retrofitted ‘Wes Amelie’, a 1,036-TEU feeder container ship, will use liquefied SNG (Synthetic Natural Gas) produced from renewable electrical energy as drop-in fuel.
To demonstrate that SNG can successfully be used as shipping fuel, 20 of the 120 tons of LNG that the Wes Amelie typically uses per round trip will be replaced by climate-neutral SNG. As a result, CO2 emissions are expected to fall by 56 tons for this trip. The SNG trip will take place after the completion of the liquefaction plant in Q2 2020.
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MAN Energy Solutions believes that it is time for what it calls a ‘Maritime Energy Transition’ to find clean, decarbonised solutions for seaborne trade and transportation. The company calls to action to reduce emissions and establish natural gases as the fuels of choice in global shipping.
For this reason, it strongly promotes a global ‘turn to gas’, led by the IMO, and a common approach by the shipping industry and politics to invest in infrastructure development and retrofits.
Wessels Reederei started the conversion of the Wes Amelie to dual-fuel running in 2017. The conversion indicated that current engines could be converted to LNG operation with a significant effect on exhaust emissions and the environment.
MAN Energy Solutions reports that the retrofit made Wes Amelie able to significantly reduce its SOx emissions by more than 99%, NOx by approximately 90%, and CO2 by up to 20%. Therefore, the vessel now complies with both Tier II and Tier III emission requirements set by the IMO.
