In connection with the Europort 2017 exhibition for maritime technology in Rotterdam, the German shipping company Wessels Reederei signed a letter of intent with MAN Diesel & Turbo regarding the conversion of three of its fleet to dual-fuel gas operation.
The three ships are sisters to the ‘Wes Amelie’, a 1,036-TEU feeder container ship with an MAN 8L48/60B main engine that was retrofitted to a multi-fuel, four-stroke MAN 51/60DF unit in September. The retrofit is world’s first such conversion of its type.
“The Wes Amelie project was really a pioneering moment in the European container-feeder market and shows clearly that existing MAN engines can be converted to LNG operation with a tremendous effect on exhaust emissions and the environment,” said Stefan Eefting – Senior Vice President, MAN Diesel & Turbo and Head of MAN PrimeServ Diesel in Augsburg.
Namely, MAN Diesel & Turbo reports that the dual-fuel conversion has enabled the Wes Amelie to significantly reduce its SOx emissions by >99%, NOx by approximately 90%, and CO2 by up to 20%, meeting both the Tier II and Tier III emission requirements set by IMO.
“One of the key reasons the Wes Amelie was selected for conversion was its ‘multiplier effect’, that is, its many sister ships that would facilitate follow-up projects at reduced costs owing to the experiences gained from the first project. I believe the signing of this letter of intent validates our approach and points a realistic way towards decarbonisation and a climate-neutral shipping industry by 2050,” further explained Mr. Eefting.
The ‘Wes Amelie’ has 23 sister ships, 16 of them structurally identical, which would allow follow-up projects to be easily implemented, facilitating a multiplier effect, according to MAN estimations.
Recently, TOTE Maritime Alaska also contracted MAN PrimeServ, MAN Diesel & Turbo’s after-sales division, to convert two roll on/roll off vessels to dual-fuel operation on LNG.
