MAN bags Hapag-Lloyd’s containership LNG retrofit job

MAN Energy Solutions said it has signed a contract for the conversion of Hapag-Lloyd’s 15,000 TEU container vessel to dual-fuel operation.

The container vessel Sajir serves a route from Asia to northern Europe via the Suez canal.

The pilot project will entail the conversion of an existing, HFO-burning MAN B&W 9S90ME-C engine to a dual-fuel MAN B&W ME-GI (Gas Injection) prime mover capable of running on HFO and LNG.

The retrofit will be done at the Chinese Hudong/HRDD shipyard, specialized in ship repair and conversion, MAN ENergy Solutions said in a statement.

“By converting the Sajir, we will be the first shipping company to retrofit a container ship of this size to LNG propulsion,” said Richard von Berlepsch, managing director fleet management at Hapag-Lloyd.

“With this unprecedented pilot, we hope to learn for the future and to pave the way for large ships to be retrofitted to use this alternative fuel,” he said.

The Hapag-Lloyd pilot project is scheduled to take place in 2020 when the five-year-old vessel will spend 90 days in dock.

The DNV-GL approved gas-storage system will occupy an area equivalent to 350 containers, including the pipework between storage and engine.

Wayne Jones, chief sales officer and member of the executive board, MAN Energy Solutions said, “MAN Cryo will install an entire gas system to supply gas to the main, as well as to the auxiliary engines, including a MAN Energy Solutions 300 bar high-pressure Pump Vaporizer System (PVU).”