Denmark: MAN’s ME-GI Engines to Propel Teekay LNG Newbuilds

MAN Diesel & Turbo has announced another order for the MAN B&W ME-GI dual-fuel, two-stroke, gas-injection engine. Teekay LNG Partners L.P. (Teekay LNG), an offshoot of Teekay Corporation, has placed an order for two LNG carriers powered by 2 × 2 5G70ME-GI engines, including an option for three further ships. The ships will be constructed by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering CO., LTD., (DSME) of South Korea. 

The propulsion solution Teekay has chosen is the most fuel-efficient, low-emission method available on the market.

Peter Evensen, Chief Executive Officer of Teekay GP LLC said: “The newbuildings will be constructed with M-type, Electronically Controlled, Gas Injection (ME-GI) twin engines, which are expected to be significantly more fuel-efficient and have lower emission levels than other engines currently being utilized in LNG shipping.”

He continued: “MAN’s ME-GI engine is highly suited to the LNG carrier market and is recognized as the most fuel-efficient gas-burning engine on the market. We are confident that the quality and fuel-efficiency of these engines will be very attractive to our customers.”

Furthermore, the Teekay LNG engines are based on the new ultra-long-stroke G-type concept to deliver an even higher overall propulsion plant efficiency. The G-type engine has gained the fastest market acceptance of any engine in the MAN B&W portfolio.

Ole Grøne, Senior Vice President Low-Speed Sales and Promotions, MAN Diesel & Turbo, said: “With the current flux in fuel prices, and the new Environmental Control Areas (ECAs), we felt the timing for the release of a commercial, low-speed, dual-fuel engine was right. The TOTE order – the very first commercial order for the ME-GI – was proof of this, and we view the continued momentum provided by the Teekay LNG order as confirmation that customers who understand the extremely positive commercial and environmental implications of the ME-GI are quickly embracing the concept.”

The ME-GI uses high-pressure gas injection that allows it to maintain the numerous positive attributes of the low-speed engine that have made it the default choice of the maritime community. The ME-GI dispenses with the need for power derating and eliminates the significant problem of methane slip (and resulting CO2 emissions).

ME-GI – tomorrow’s engine, available today

Unveiled at a major event at MAN Diesel & Turbo’s Copenhagen Diesel Research Centre in May 2011, the ME-GI engine represents the culmination of many years’ work that began in the 1990s with the company’s prototype MC-GI dual-fuel engine that entered service at a power plant in Chiba, near Tokyo, Japan in 1994.

Depending on relative price and availability, as well as environmental considerations, the ME-GI engine gives shipowners and operators the option of using either HFO or gas – predominantly natural gas but also LPG and methane.

MAN Diesel & Turbo sees significant opportunities arising for gas-fuelled tonnage as fuel prices rise and modern exhaust-emission limits tighten. Indeed, research indicates that the ME-GI engine delivers significant reductions in CO2, NOx and SOx emissions. Furthermore, the ME-GI engine has no methane slip and is therefore the most environmentally friendly technology available.

The ME-GI engine represents a highly efficient, flexible, propulsion-plant solution.

Engines with the G-prefix

Following efficiency optimisation trends in the market, MAN Diesel & Turbo has thoroughly evaluated the possibility of using ever larger propellers and thereby engines with even lower speeds for the propulsion of ocean-going vessels.

Such vessels may be more compatible with propellers with larger diameters than current designs, and facilitate higher efficiencies following adaptation of the aft-hull design to accommodate a larger propeller. It is estimated that such new designs offer potential fuel-consumption savings of some 4-7%, and a similar reduction in CO2 emissions.

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Press Release, December 20, 2012