ME-GI Scores Further Success; Forward-Looking Customers Acknowledge ME-GI Benefits

Dec. 20, 2012 - PRLog -- 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, the international shipping group, has placed an order for two LNG carriers powered by    2 × 2 5G70ME-GI engines, including an option for three further ships. 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.

The ships will be constructed by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering CO., LTD., (DSME) of South Korea. Teekay LNG intends to secure long-term contract employment for both of the two 173,400 cubic metre LNG carriers prior to their delivery in the first half of 2016.

The new order follows the early December announcement that TOTE, the American shipping company, has ordered two 3,100 TEU newbuilding container ships, each powered by an 8L70ME-GI engine, with an option for three additional vessels. The announcement represents the first commercial order for the engine type, officially designated as ME-C-GI (M-type, Electronically Controlled, GI for Gas Injection) in the MAN Diesel & Turbo low-speed 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.

MAN Diesel & Turbo predicts a broad, potential market for its ME-GI engine. As such, 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.

About Teekay
Established in 1973, Teekay has developed from a regional shipping company into one of the world’s largest marine energy transportation, storage and production companies.

Teekay LNG Partners L.P. is a publicly-traded master limited partnership formed by Teekay Corporation  as part of its strategy to expand its operations in the LNG and LPG shipping sectors. Teekay LNG Partners L.P. provides LNG, LPG and crude oil marine transportation services primarily under long-term, fixed-rate charter contracts with major energy and utility companies through its fleet of 27 LNG carriers, five LPG/Multigas carriers and 11 conventional tankers. Teekay LNG Partners L.P. is a publicly-traded master limited partnership formed by Teekay Corporation  as part of its strategy to expand its operations in the LNG and LPG shipping sectors.

ENDS