Industry Welcomes Second-Generation Low Emission Methanol-Fuelled Vessels
August 20 2019 - 7:57PM
Waterfront Shipping Company Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Methanex Corporation, and Marinvest/Skagerack Invest (Marinvest)
are proud to welcome two new innovative, clean-burning vessels, M/T
Mari Couva and M/T Mari Kokako, to the Waterfront Shipping
fleet.
These 49,000 dwt vessels are built with the second generation of
MAN B&W ME-LGIM two stroke dual-fuel engines that can run on
both methanol and conventional marine fuels. The vessels join the
seven existing methanol-fuelled vessels chartered by Waterfront
Shipping that have received accolades from the marine industry for
their use of methanol as an alternative fuel. These existing
vessels have surpassed more than 50,000 operating hours running on
methanol in compliance with IMO 2020 emissions regulations. The two
new vessels – together with an additional two vessels that will be
delivered to Waterfront Shipping by year-end – are also able to
meet IMO Tier III emissions standards without the need for exhaust
gas after treatment. “We are very excited by the performance of our
first seven methanol-fuelled vessels that have proven the safety
and reliability of the technology. With this second generation of
vessels, we will benefit from innovative technological advances
that will continue to optimize performance and efficiency,” says
Paul Hexter, President, Waterfront Shipping Ltd.
“On an energy-equivalent basis, methanol is cost competitive over
energy price cycles and we see significant value creation
opportunities from using a methanol flex-fuel engine. We are proud
that approximately 40 percent of our fleet will be powered by
methanol-fuel technology by the end of the year.” “Our first
two methanol-powered ships were delivered in 2016,
and each now has more than 10,000 successful
running hours on methanol with no issues that have resulted in
off-hire or idle time,” says Patrik Mossberg, Chairman,
Marinvest. “It is important that we share our experiences
and make the industry aware that methanol is a well-proven,
simple-to-adopt solution offering compliance with IMO 2020
regulations and provides a pathway to meeting IMO 2030 and 2050 CO2
emission targets.” Methanol is one of the world’s most
widely traded chemicals and is available globally at major ports,
providing a cost-effective solution to meet the needs of shipowners
today. Safe, biodegradable and clean-burning, methanol is a marine
fuel that can meet the most stringent environmental regulations. In
addition to IMO 2020-compliant SOx emissions and the ability to
meet Tier III NOx regulations without exhaust aftertreatment,
methanol can also provide a pathway to meeting future carbon
emission reduction targets when it is produced from renewable
sources.
René Sejer Laursen, Promotion Manager at MAN Energy
Solutions says: “We developed the ME-LGIM engine in
response to interest from the shipping world in alternatives to
heavy fuel oil. With the growing demand for cleaner marine fuels,
methanol is a sulphur-free alternative that meets the industry’s
increasingly stringent emission regulations. We are also very happy
to collaborate once again with Methanex, whose vessels have
showcased the benefits of operating on methanol and that meeting
Tier III limits is possible through mixing methanol with water.
Furthermore, a methanol-burning engine can enable the vessels to
meet future greenhouse-gas emission standards as methanol can be
produced in a carbon-neutral fashion from renewable sources. As
such, the ME-LGI concept is mature technology and MAN Energy
Solutions looks forward to exploring its many possibilities in the
future.” The two new vessels, a joint venture between Waterfront
Shipping and Marinvest, were built in Korea at Hyundai Mipo
Dockyard. Waterfront Shipping will charter the two vessels to
replace older vessels. A further two vessels, also powered by
methanol, will be delivered to Waterfront Shipping before the end
of 2019.
About Waterfront ShippingWaterfront Shipping, a
wholly owned subsidiary of Methanex Corporation, is a global marine
transportation company specializing in the safe, responsible and
reliable transport of bulk chemicals and clean petroleum products
to major international markets in North America, Asia Pacific,
Europe and Latin America. Waterfront Shipping operates the world's
largest methanol ocean tanker fleet with its fleet comprising
vessels from 3,000 to 50,000 dead weight tonnes. Its fleet of 28
modern, deep sea tankers forms a seamless transportation network
dedicated to keeping an uninterrupted flow of methanol moving to
storage terminals and customers' plant sites around the world. For
more information, please visit www.wfs-cl.com/. About
Methanex CorporationMethanex is a Vancouver-based,
publicly traded company and is the world's largest producer and
supplier of methanol to major international markets. Methanex
shares are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange in
Canada under the trading symbol "MX" and on the NASDAQ Global
Market in the United States under the trading symbol "MEOH”.
Methanex can be visited online at www.methanex.com.
About Marinvest/Skagerack InvestMarinvest is a
private shipping and investment group, part owners and managers of
product and chemical tankers. Holdings include investments in
tankers of about 80,000 dwt, chemical tankers between 20,000 to
50,000 dwt, a developing coastal shipping company and real estate.
For more information, please visit www.marinvest.se.
About MAN Energy Solutions & the MG-LGIM
EngineMAN Energy Solutions developed the ME-LGIM dual-fuel
engine for operation on methanol, heavy fuel oil (HFO), marine
diesel oil (MDO) or marine gas oil (MGO). The engine is based on
the company’s proven ME series, with approximately 5,000 engines in
service, and works according to the diesel principle as methanol is
a low-flashpoint, liquid fuel. When operating on methanol, the
ME-LGI uses HFO, MDO or MGO as a pilot fuel, significantly reduces
emissions of CO2, NOx and SOx, and does not have any methane slip.
Additionally, any operational switch between methanol and other
fuels is seamless. Tests on the engine, when running on methanol,
have recorded the same or a slightly better efficiency compared to
conventional HFO-burning engines. MAN developed the ME-LGI engine
concept in response to interest from the shipping world to operate
on alternatives to heavy fuel oil. Methanol carriers have operated
at sea for many years. With a viable, convenient and economic fuel
already on-board, exploiting a fraction of the cargo to power a
vessel makes sense with another important factor being the benefit
to the environment. For more information, please visit
https://marine.man-es.com/two-stroke/2-stroke-engines/me-lgim.
For further information, contact:
Waterfront Shipping Company / Methanex Corporation Investor
Inquiries: Kim Campbell, Manager, Investor Relations +1-604 661
2600 or Toll Free: 1 800 661 8851
kcampbell@methanex.com
Media Inquiries: Louise McMahon, Manager, Communications +1-604
661 2600 or Toll Free: 1 800 661 8851
lmcmahon@methanex.com
Marinvest/Skagerack Invest Patrik Mossberg, Chairman +46 31 81
72 50 patrik@marinvest.se
MAN Energy Solutions Nils Søholt, Head of Marine Communications
+45 33 85 26 69 nils.soeholt@man-es.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a978267f-0e81-4443-bc84-3f825878063f
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