Qatari gas transporter Nakilat has retrofitted the 266,000 cbm LNG carrier Rasheeda with a gas-burning M-Type Electronically Controlled – Gas Injection (ME-GI) System, making it the world’s first vessel in which low-speed marine diesel engines were converted to use LNG as a fuel.
The retrofit modification, done in association with Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) producers Qatargas and RasGas Company Limited and engine manufacturer MAN Diesel & Turbo, meets the current known and future stated global emissions regulations, Nakilat says.
Nakilat’s Rasheeda, built in 2010, has two MAN B&W S70ME-C HFO-burning engines, which have been converted to the dual-fuel ME-GI concept.
The shipyard operator Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine (N-KOM) carried out the ship’s conversion at its Erhama bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard facilities in the Qatari port of Ras Laffan Industrial City.
“The success of the ME-GI project is the culmination of years of cooperation with Qatargas, RasGas and MAN Diesel & Turbo as turnkey project manager. In late 2013, Nakilat worked with our charterers to implement a pilot conversion on Q-Max Rasheeda, the first retrofit ME-GI project ever to be implemented in the marine industry. This is a milestone moment for all involved parties,” Nakilat Managing Director Eng. Abdullah Al-Sulaiti, said.
The project collaborators, including MAN PrimeServ, installed the ME-GI system on the vessel at the Erhama bin Jaber Al Jalahma shipyard in Qatar in June 2015. The partner for the ME-GI fuel supply system is TGE.
Christian Ludwig, Head of Retrofit and Upgrades, MAN PrimeServ, said: “This is a fantastic milestone in our company’s history. It is a lighthouse project, and there has been a remarkable partnership and cooperation through this historic conversion. Our ME-GI order book now stands at 140 orders – for different vessel sizes and applications, which we see as a compelling case for our technology to be designated the industry standard.”
The Qatar fleet comprises 14 Q-Max and 31 Q-Flex LNG carriers, all using dual MAN Diesel Turbo’s S70-ME low-speed diesel engines for propulsion.