View non-flash version
www.marinelink.com 15and made many developments, so we are ready; but we need to test it and to prove that our design is without ß aw.? In addition to the newbuild market, Knudsen maintains that the demand for reÞ ts will be powerful as well. ?You will not lose any efÞ ciency and you will not lose any power (when reÞ tting a diesel engine for LNG fuel),? Knudsen said. ?ModiÞ cation on the engine itself is relatively small. The biggest part of the investment is the fuel tanks and the fuel supply system.? Generally speaking, the size of the LNG fuel tanks are three times the size of the tanks on a similarly powered diesel engine ship, and building space for the larger tanks is one of the most important considerations for both the reÞ t and the newbuild setors. ME GI: The Time is Now One of MAN Diesel & Turbo?s old- est licensees held a demonstration of the ME-GI concept on April 17, 2013 at its Tamano works, where guest viewed the engine and were able to listen to the company?s leadership ? speci Þ cally MAN Diesel & Turbo?s Dr. René Um- lauft, CEO, and Thomas Knudsen spoke to describe the impact of the new engine on the marketplace.?Dual-fuel engines are tailored per- fectly to these demands,? said Dr. Um- lauft. ?When operated in gas mode, CO2 and nitric oxide emissions are markedly reduced, while sulfur oxides, soot and particle emissions are virtually non-exis-tent. Additionally, dual-fuel engines give ship owners and operators tremendous ß exibility and cost-ef Þ ciency, since the fuel can be changed based on its avail-ability and price.?Knudsen spoke of his pride in the result of many years of joint effort be- tween Mitsui and MAN Diesel & Turbo and also referenced the Þ rst GI engine that was developed in Tamano and later entered service, producing electricity for the Tokyo area. He called the demonstra- tion of the 6S70ME-C-GI engine another visible sign of the high entrepreneurship and innovative capability of Mitsui.?With this technology, Mitsui and MAN Diesel & Turbo will be able to supply the most environmentally friend-ly and most economical propulsion plants for not only LNG carriers but also VLCCs, container ships, RoRo ships, bulkers and other ship types,? Knudsen said. The ME-GI technology is a tradi- tional two-stroke engine technology that can be maintained and overhauled by chief engineers already capable of main-taining existing two-stroke engines.Unveiled in May 2011, the ME-GI en- gine is designed to give shipowners and operators the option of using either HFO or gas ? predominantly natural gas but also LPG and methane.Mitsui is the second MAN Diesel & Turbo two-stroke licensee to demon- strate the ME-GI concept after Hyun-dai did so in Korea in November 2012. Shortly afterwards, TOTE ordered two 8L70ME-GI engines to power two 3,100 TEU newbuilding container ships, with an option for three additional vessels. That announcement ofÞ cially designated as ME-C-GI (M-type, Electronically Controlled, GI for Gas Injection) in the MAN Diesel & Turbo low-speed portfo- lio. The following month, MAN Diesel & Turbo was able to con Þ rm the suc- cessful introduction of the ME-GI to the market with the announcement of anoth-er order when Teekay LNG Partners L.P. (Teekay LNG), an offshoot of Teekay Corporation, the international shipping group, placed an order for two LNG carriers powered by 2 × 2 5G70ME-GI engines, including an option for three further ships.?From our side, the LNG Revolution is as similar as going from Coal to Diesel Engines . Of course the transition will take some time and it will be slow in the beginning. But we believe that here in the U.S. that it will actually be very, very fast. But there is no doubt that this will revolutionize shipping.? Thomas S. Knudsen, SVP, Head of Marine Low Speed and CEO of Denmark, MAN Diesel & Turbo Scenes from Japan of the ME-GI engine and its demonstration at Mitsui?s Tamano works. MR #7 (10-17).indd 15MR #7 (10-17).indd 157/2/2013 8:59:32 AM7/2/2013 8:59:32 AM
