Ship Photos of the Day – World’s First Methanol-Powered Tankers

MV Taranaki Sun. Photo credit: Waterfront Shipping

Today’s ship photos show the Taranaki Sun, one of three new ocean going tankers that are the first ever to run on clean-burning methanol.

The vessels, the Lindanger, Mari Jone and Taranaki Sun, are the first three in a series of seven total 50,000 DWT tankers built with the first-of-its kind MAN B&W ME-LGI 2-stroke dual-fuel engines that can run on methanol, fuel oil, marine diesel oil, or gas oil. The engine was developed by MAN Diesel & Turbo and is based on the company’s proven ME-series, with its approximately 5,000 engines in service.

The vessels are being built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and Minaminippon Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. for a partnership involving Waterfront Shipping Company Ltd. (WFS), Marinvest/Skagerack Invest (Marinvest), Westfal-Larsen Management (WL), and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL).

Lindanger was the first to be delivered to WL on April 20 by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, with the Taranaki Sun delivered to MOL on April 22 and the Mari Jone to be delivered to Marinvest/WFS on April 28. All seven vessels in the series will be chartered by Waterfront Shipping.

“When operating on methanol, the ME-LGI significantly reduces emissions of CO2, NOx and SOx. Additionally, any operational switch between methanol and other conventional fuels is seamless,” states Ole Grøne Senior Vice President, Head of Marketing and Sales, MAN Diesel & Turbo.

The remaining four vessels will be delivered by October 2016.

The Stena Line ferry Stena Germanica is currently the only commercial ship in the world that uses methanol as its main fuel. The ship returned to service in March 2015 after having been converted at the Remontowa Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland. The ferry operates between Kiel, Germany and Gothenburg, Sweden.