The Lindanger, the first of two dual- fuelled 50,000 DWT tankers owned by Westfal-Larsen that run on methanol, has been launched at Hyundai Mipo dockyard in Korea.
The tanker was constructed to DNV GL Class requirements, featuring a MAN designed Hyundai–B&W 6G50ME-9.3 ME-LGI dual-fuel, two-stroke engine on board.
The Lindanger can run on methanol, fuel oil, marine diesel oil or gasoil and is to be chartered by Waterfront Shipping, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Methanex Corp, the world’s largest producer and supplier of methanol.
Westfal-Larsen run a fleet of 22 tankers to transport methanol worldwide but this is the first one that will be able to use the methanol itself.
Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO at DNV GL commented “Methanol as a marine fuel is a very promising option to enable owners to reduce the environmental impact of their vessels and to comply with low sulphur and ECA regulations”
When running on methanol, SOx emissions will be reduced by about 95% and NOx emissions by about 30% compared to conventional marine diesel oil.
Fact File
Methanol is sulphur free (SOx) and with lower particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions.
It could be a promising option for vessels which are operating in ECAs (emission control areas) and for meeting both current and future regulations covering SOx emissions.
Methanol is produced from natural gas and can also be produced through renewable sources, such as biomass, recycled CO2, agricultural and timber waste.
The energy content of methanol is roughly half that of standard heavy fuel oil, but as it is a liquid, methanol can be handled by conventional bunkering and storage solutions without extensive modifications.
The cost to build new and covert existing vessels to run on methanol is significantly less than alternative fuel conversions. Also, as one of the top five chemical commodities shipped around the world each year, methanol is available around the world through existing global infrastructure.
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