MAN Energy Solutions has won the order to supply 10 × MAN B&W 7G80ME-GI Mk9.5 dual-fuel engines to a series of 10 × 300,000-dwt VLCCs distributed among shipowners, Advantage Tankers, AET and International Seaways. Another new segment for the ME-GI, the newbuildings will operate globally as charters for a major oil company. HSD Engine will construct the engines in Korea, while DSME will build the vessels, again in Korea, according to the company's release.
The new order follows a slew of recent orders announced globally for the engine in recent months. MAN Energy Solutions stated in January 2021 that its low-speed, dual-fuel references in their entirety then exceeded 360 units, with the ME-GI recording over 1.5 million operating hours on LNG alone.
MAN Energy Solutions successful ME-GI (-Gas Injection) engine has set a new industrial standard for two-stroke propulsion engines aboard – among others – container vessels, bulk carriers, tankers, LNG carriers and car carriers. The ME-GI engine provides ship-owners and operators with a peerless solution within environmentally friendly and high-efficiency, two-stroke technology, without the greenhouse emissions such as methane slip that are characteristic of competing engines.
With the ME-GI engine, two-stroke development has taken a step further by combining the unique properties of multi-fuel combustion and the well-known reliability of MAN Energy Solutions ME-engine. The Diesel principle not only provides the ME-GI engine with high operational stability and efficiency, but also ensures 100% stable and reliable operation during load changes on gas with just normal additions of pilot-oil amounts. Furthermore, the ME-GI operational principles features a seamless change-over between gas operation and diesel operation The ME-GI engine is the most environmentally-friendly technology available within the two-stroke engine segment.
MAN Energy Solutions has also developed an ME-LGI (-Liquid Gas Injection) dual-fuel engine that expands the company’s dual-fuel portfolio, enabling the use of more sustainable fuels such as methanol and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).