China Merchants Heavy Industry has ordered 2 × MAN B&W 7S60ME-LGIM (Liquid Gas Injection Methanol) engines in connection with the construction of 2 × 9,300 ceu (car equivalent units) Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTCs) for China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES).

The order represents a number of firsts, including the first order globally for the S60ME-LGIM variant, the first methanol-fueled engine for a PCTC, and the first Chinese-built methanol engine.

The engines will feature MAN Energy Solutions’ proprietary EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system. Engine manufacturer CSE will construct the engines in China with respective vessel delivery set for 2025 and 2026; the order also contains an option for an additional four vessels.

Interest in using methanol in ocean-going vessels is at an all-time high, especially in the container vessel segment but also in the vehicle-transport sector whose main players are moving to expand capacity driven by very strong, Chinese car sales, and to renew their fleets in response to new emission regulations. Thus, with this order, CMES is simultaneously expanding its business and improving its sustainable profitability. While LNG has been the most popular alternative fuel within the PCTC segment, CMES is one of the first movers to methanol, which we expect will figure prominently as a future fuel in the maritime energy transition across all vessel segments.

—Bjarne Foldager, Head of Two-Stroke Business, MAN Energy Solutions

The 110 ordered ME-LGIM engines and the fact that we have already completed more than 400,000 operating hours with methanol at sea, prove the efficiency of our methanol concept. In response to the growing interest in methanol-powered engines, we have recently expanded our portfolio to include the S60, G60 and G45-LGIM variants, so that our methanol portfolio now covers all major merchant ships such as container ships, bulk freight carriers, tankers and general cargo carriers such as PCTCs.

—Thomas S. Hansen, Head of Promotion and Customer Support, MAN Energy Solutions