MAN Energy Solutions has won the order to supply the world’s first, low-speed, dual-fuel engine to run on methanol within the container segment. Hyundai (HMD) will construct the 2,100teu vessel in Korea for A.P. Møller – Maersk, while HHI-EMD, which has already experience with LGIM engines (eight engines in operation and 12 engines under construction for methanol carriers), will build the MAN B&W 6G50ME-LGIM (-Liquid Gas Injection Methanol) type – also in Korea. The engine will be Tier III-compliant.

Upon launch, the newbuilding will become the very first, methanol-powered vessel that does not carry methanol as cargo. Mærsk has further announced that it expects the new vessel to be powered by green methanol with bio-fuel employed as pilot oil. The vessel is set to enter service in 2023 and will sail in the network of Sealand Europe – a Maersk company- the Baltic shipping route between Northern Europe and the Bothnian Bay.

Bjarne Foldager, Senior Vice President and Head of Two-Stroke Business, MAN Energy Solutions, said, “Maersk is displaying great leadership in adopting renewable methanol as part of its decarbonisation strategy – and well ahead of its initial 2030-ambition. For our part, we are designing dual-fuel technology that meets the growing customer demand for sustainable shipping chains and, here, our ME-LGIM engine plays an important role. It’s particularly pleasing to see it make its debut within the important container segment.”

Foldager continued, “Our other ME-LGIM references have proven methanol as a clean, efficient and safe, marine fuel that offers a clear path to decarbonisation through significant greenhouse-gas reductions, when produced from renewable energy sources. In general, as we move towards a zero-carbon future, MAN Energy Solutions’ dual-fuel engine portfolio is well positioned to handle whatever alternative fuels the market brings.”

MAN Energy Solutions states that its low-speed, dual-fuel references now exceed 408 units, with the ME-GI recording over 1.7 million operating hours on LNG alone, while the ME-LGI platform has accumulated more than 110,000 dual-fuel running hours. The ME-LGIM dual-fuel engine was developed for operation on methanol, as well as conventional fuel. The engine is based on the company’s proven ME-series, with its approximately 5,000 engines in service, and works according to the Diesel principle. When operating on methanol, the ME-LGIM significantly reduces emissions of CO2, NOx and SOx.

Additionally, any operational switch between methanol and other fuels is seamless. Tests on the engine, when running on methanol, have recorded the same or a slightly better efficiency compared to conventional, HFO-burning engines.

Shipping analyst VesselsValue has published an article on its website that forecasts an increased demand for vessels supporting offshore wind farms.

World Energy Reports estimate that more than 100 wind farm installation and maintenance vessels will be required over the next decade. This is due to the proliferation of Offshore wind farm projects planned for construction over the next 10 years.

Last year, for the first time ever, Offshore renewable projects spending was higher than Offshore oil and gas spending with an estimated $56Bnl sanctioned for renewables compared to $43Bn for oil and gas.

Demand for wind farm installation and maintenance vessels will be met by newly constructed vessels and re-purposed or upgraded existing OSVs. Most of the existing fleet of wind turbine installation vessels will become obsolete by 2025 due to increased wind turbine sizes to accommodate higher MW capacity, larger foundation sizes and deeper water wind farm sites. The global capacity of Offshore wind farms at present is 25GW but this will increase to an estimated 235GW by 2030, 520GW in 2040 and as much as 1000GW in 2050.

The major renewable operators at present are in Europe, with the UK having the most installed wind farms, followed by Germany, China, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands.  This is due to Europe being the current world leader in Offshore wind power. However, the majority of under-construction wind farms are found in China and Vietnam. This may be because the North Sea and particularly the UK/Germany sector already have many installed wind farms.

Asia has the highest number of future planned wind farm projects with China planning 69 wind farm projects followed by Japan with 55 planned projects and South Korea with 41 projects. Within China, South Korea and Japan, all wind farm installation vessels inside of wind farms (OCV/Liftboat/OSV) were from the host country which suggests governments in China/Japan/Korea will restrict access to home markets to domestic shipyards and owners only. VesselsValue’s Orderbook shows that of the 16 SOV and WTIV currently on order, half are for the European market and half are for the Far East market.

Installed gigawatt (GW) capacity at present is highest in Europe (19GW) with Asia far behind with an installed Offshore capacity of 5GW. However, when looking at predicted installed capacity for 2030, Asia pulls ahead of Europe with a GW capacity of 126 compared with 78GW in Europe. When predicted wind farm capacity for 2050 is compared, Asia will have a predicted capacity of 613GW, Europe 215GW and North America 164GW.

The Panama and Florida-based International Register of Shipping (INTLREG) is expanding its regional coverage in the Middle East by providing services now in Kuwait after being officially recognised as a classification society by the oil producing GCC country.

This new approval re-enforces INTLREG’s recognition as a maritime service provider operating in this region with approvals in two other GCC countries and survey/audit stations properly established to provide service to its clients.

INTLREG is authorised by 33 flags across the globe. It is supported by a network of 98 locations providing related classification and marine services. It is able to offer ship owners and operators in the Middle East classification, statutory sand verification services.

Robert Padilla, CEO of the International Register of Shipping, believes they are ideally placed to support ship owners operating in the Middle East. “This is an important step for INTLREG and a real opportunity for ship owners in the Middle East to benefit from our comprehensive services covering classification services, maritime auditing,  training services, along with advisory support relating to both newbuild and existing vessels. We have been working in this important maritime sector for nearly 30 years and we understand the needs of ship owners and operators. Our services have been honed to provide them with the core services they need to remain in operation and on the right side of the regulatory bodies. During the past three decades we have worked closely with ship owners across the globe and this recognition by Kuwait is a testament to our continuing development. Establishing a surveyor and official representative in Kuwait re-enforces how we are able to support our clients locally”.

Methanol as a commercially and technically viable marine fuel is gaining greater traction over other alternative bunkers, including LNG, as more shipowners adopt the clean burning fuel as price spreads narrow and production ramps up proponents are saying.

Speaking at a virtual conference last week, Greg Dolan, CEO of the Methanol Institute, a trade body whose shipowner members include Maersk, Stena Bulk, MSC, MOL and Oldendorff Carriers, predicts that methanol production costs will fall to become more competitively priced than traditional diesel bunker and other alternative fuels.

Dolan suggested that the move to methanol would also help shipowners avoid the proposed carbon tax on diesel, which could be between $250 and $450/t of CO2.

“There’s a call by many including the world’s largest shippers for a carbon tax on diesel fuels. That would dramatically change the pricing picture for marine fuels and the only available alternative fuel options today are advanced biofuels, LNG and methanol,” he said.

As a transitional fuel, methanol is supported by the IMO in its recent adoption of safe handling guidelines under the IGF Code for low flashpoint fuels. “This has been an important milestone in the growth of methanol as a marine fuel,” Dolan said. “And while LNG paved the way for methanol, methanol adoption can be a model for ammonia and hydrogen in the future.”

According to Dolan, methanol production increased last year to 100Mmt, doubling production in a decade. He said production could reach 500Mmt by 2050, as predicted in a joint Methanol Institute/International Renewable Energy Agency report released earlier this year.

Commenting on those shipowners that have already announced plans to include methanol within their fuel pool, Dolan told attendees at the Maritime AMC-organised Alternative Fuels webinar that first movers, such as Maersk, understand “there is little time left to wait on potential solutions that might fulfil 100% of their 2050 goals. They know we don’t have 30 years to wait.”

Maersk announced in March that its first methanol-burning vessel will launch in 2023, seven years ahead of schedule. The company also mooted an order for twelve 15,000TEU methanol-fuelled containerships.

Another advocate is Proman Stena Bulk. The joint venture between shipowner Stena Bulk and methanol producer Proman is planning to build six 50,000dwt tankers with methanol dual-fuel engines for delivery in 2023. A further three vessels owned solely by Proman, scheduled for delivery in 2022 and 2023, will be traded globally for shipping chemicals and clean petroleum products.

Anita Gajadhar, Managing Director Proman Marketing, Logistics and Shipping, said: “For us, methanol is a proven fuel capable of meeting the shipping industry’s carbon reduction targets. When you look at the long-term pricing, it is competitive when compared to alternatives, like MGO. It is easy to bunker, it is safe to bunker, and it is widely available as bunker in 122 ports.”

Gajadhar claimed that methanol is currently being traded at a price lower than LNG in some ports, and is less to bunker than biofuel, currently traded at $1,200/t or more. “Methanol is actually going to be a little bit cheaper than some of the biofuels that are available in the market today…. In terms of CAPEX, it is also a lot cheaper to modify vessels for methanol than it is for LNG,” she said.

Methanol-fuelled newbuilds also cost less than a LNG-burning ship, according to engine builders MAN Energy Solutions and Wärtsilä. Kjeld Aabo, Director New Technologies two-stroke promotion, MAN Energy Solutions, told attendees that a 54,300m3 capacity product tanker running a methanol-fuelled engine would add about 10% to the newbuild price. The same vessel running on LNG would cost 22% more than a conventional HFO-burning ship.

The engine builder, which first unveiled and tested a methanol dual-fuel engine in 2016 and has a current orderbook of 23 ME-LGIM engines, said methanol combustion emits 8% less CO2 than an HFO Tier II engine. SOx emissions are reduced by 97% and NOx up to 60%. And since the methanol molecule contains no carbon-carbon bonds, it does not produce particulate matter or soot when burned resulting in smokeless operation. “I really believe there will be a big market for methanol in the future and the technology on the engine side is there,” said Aabo.

Toni Stojcevski, General Manager, Project Sales & Development, Wärtsilä, agreed but warned “if we are going to be compliant in 2050, with a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, then we need to prepare and start executing today.”

While Wärtsilä introduced a methanol engine in in 2013, Stojcevski revealed that the engine builder expects to have an ammonia-fuelled engine operating next year and a pure hydrogen engine in 2025. The company also plans to launch a new methanol-burning engine based on its proven W32 series in late 2023. This will be available for newbuilds and retrofit.

Closing the webinar Dolan said: “Methanol engines are available. The fuel is available. The infrastructure is there and it’s affordable. We can act now.”