Methanol first for PCTC

MAN Energy Solutions’ two-stroke, dual-fuel engines have recorded over 400,000 operating hours on methanol at sea. (Image: MAN)

MAN said two of its methanol engines will power two PCTCs, the first time methanol will be used in a pure car, truck carrier.

China Merchants Heavy Industry ordered the MAN B&W 7S60ME-LGIM (-Liquid Gas Injection Methanol) engines in for the construction of two 9,300 ceu (car equivalent units) PCTCs for China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES). The business represents a number of firsts, including the first order globally for the S60ME-LGIM variant and the first Chinese-built methanol engine.

The engines will incorporate MAN Energy Solutions’ proprietary EGR system and engine manufacturer CSE will construct the engines in China with respective vessel delivery set for 2025 and 2026; the order also contains an option for an additional four vessels.

“Interest in using methanol in ocean-going vessels is at an all-time high, especially in the container vessel segment but also in the vehicle-transport sector whose main players are moving to expand capacity driven by very strong, Chinese car sales, and to renew their fleets in response to new emission regulations,” said Bjarne Foldager, head of Two-Stroke Business, MAN Energy Solutions. “Thus, with this order, CMES is simultaneously expanding its business and improving its sustainable profitability. While LNG has been the most popular alternative fuel within the PCTC segment, CMES is one of the first movers to methanol, which we expect will figure prominently as a future fuel in the maritime energy transition across all vessel segments.”

Thomas S. Hansen, head of Promotion and Customer Support, MAN Energy Solutions, said the 110 ME-LGIM engines ordered and more than 400,000 running hours on methanol already recorded at sea show the potency of the company’s methanol concept.

“Indeed, in response to the increasing interest in methanol powered engines, we recently expanded our portfolio with the addition of S60-, G60- and G45-LGIM variants such that the propulsion power of our methanol portfolio now spans across all large merchant-marine vessel applications such as container vessels, bulk carriers, tankers, and general cargo vessels like PCTCs,” Hansen said.