Liegruppen, the Norwegian fishing firm, has contracted MAN Diesel & Turbo to provide the propulsion and fuel gas supply systems for what will be the world’s first LNG-powered trawler.
The 86 m newbuilding purse-seiner Libas, which is being built by Cemre Shipyard in Istanbul, will feature a MAN four-stroke 6L51/60DF main engine, Renk gearbox, MAN Alpha propeller system and a MAN Cryo LNG fuel gas supply system (FGSS), complete with a 350 m3 bunker tank.
“This is a very noteworthy win,” said MAN Diesel & Turbo head of four-stroke marine Lex Nijsen. “Our ability to provide this efficient, low-emission, proven LNG-fuelled propulsion package – a world first for this environmentally-sensitive segment – really puts our credentials as a system provider on display.”
Man Diesel & Turbo considers the use of natural gases for fuel in global shipping as the most promising way to support the goal of a climate-neutral shipping industry.
“We offer a full system approach with regards to gas propulsion,” Mr Nijsen added. “This includes newbuilds as well as retrofits of existing vessels. In 2017 MAN retrofitted the world’s first container vessel for LNG propulsion and more such projects are currently being realised,” he said.
MAN Diesel & Turbo acquired the fuel gas specialist Cryo AB in 2015 and has since integrated its solutions into the engine manufacturer’s dual-fuel propulsion system offerings. Under the brand MAN Cryo, the company provides systems for the storage, distribution and handling of liquefied gases.
The MAN Cryo FGSS for Libas encompasses a 350 m³ vacuum-insulated cylindrical IMO Type C bunker tank; a tank connection space (TCS)/coldbox with process equipment, manifold and instrumentation; an emergency shutdown (ESD) system; and a bunker station for the transfer of LNG to the bunker tank.
The bunker tank can accommodate carriage temperatures as low as -163°C, the boiling point of LNG. LNG is stored in the tank at the lowest possible temperature and pressure until it is vaporised and supplied to the dual-fuel MAN 6L51/60DF main engine, as consumption demands.
MAN Diesel & Turbo’s uprated MAN L51/60DF engine successfully passed its type approval test at the end of 2017. The nine-cylinder test engine under test on that occasion had an output of 1,150 kW/cylinder at a nominal speed of 500/514 rpm. MAN L51/60DF units can be employed both as marine main and auxiliary engines.
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