HANSA 03-2018

MAN/Tote 1S.
Schiffstechnik | Ship Technology
Largest LNG
conversion in North America starts
Photo: TOTE
To facilitate operation in the American ECA zone, TOTE converts its ConRo vessels
»North Star« and »Midnight Sun« to dual-fuel operation together with MAN
TOTE Maritime Alaska, a daughter
company of American marine-transportation
group TOTE, recently awarded
MAN PrimeServ, MAN Diesel & Turbo’s
after-sales division, with the contract.
The RoRo ships are currently both powered
by four MAN B&W 9L 58/64 engines
and will be retrofitted to MAN 58/64 retrofit
units. The contract covers the design,
development and testing of a firstof-its-kind
dual-fuel kit, which will serve
as foundation for the largest LNG conversion
in North America.
The ABS-classed Orca-class vessels
feature twin-screw diesel-electric propulsion
with a total capacity of 52.2 MW
each. Besides the four main engines they
have two MAN B&W 9L 27/38 engines
each and an Alstom 6.6 kV electric propulsion
system.
Thomas Spindler, Head of Upgrades &
Retrofits at MAN PrimeServ Augsburg,
explains: »To meet TOTE’s requirements,
we have developed a solution based on
our well-proven 51/60DF retrofit. Accordingly,
the engineering approach to
the 58/64 retrofit is very familiar to us,
and this project represents a straightforward
conversion procedure.«
Spindler adds: »Not only will the retrofitted
engines meet all new emission
standards; the new components they receive
during conversion will significantly
extend their working life.«
Seaspan Shipyard in Victoria, Canada,
and TOTE have just completed the first
phase of the conversion which consisted
in remodeling the first vessel in order to
enable LNG bunkering. The engine conversion
itself will begin some time in 2019.
MAN is currently in the process of developing
the 58/64 dual-fuel conversion technology-wise.
A next step will be testing the
DF technology for 58/64 engines on the
MAN testbed with a retrofitted 58/64DF
engine. The retrofits are scheduled to be
completed in early 2020 and early 2021.
TOTE Maritime Alaska handles approximately
one-third of goods transportation
between the continental US and
Alaska. Both the »North Star« and »Midnight
Sun« operate fast routes between
Anchorage, Alaska and Tacoma, Washington.
The two Orca-class ships were
originally constructed by General Dynamics
NASSCO in San Diego and were
commissioned in 2003. »We have been investigating
and testing many options for
shifting the fleet to LNG. The conversion
of the existing engines is the most reliable
and beneficial solution,« says Peter
Keller, Executive Vice President of TOTE
and chairman of the industry coalition
SEA LNG. The American shipping company
has been working on the LNG conversion
of the two vessels for more than
six years and was set to start in 2015. But
due to the loss of the »El Faro« in October
2015, the project had to be pushed back.
TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico is notable
for ordering the world’s first LNG-powered
Marlin-class container ships, the
»Isla Bella« and »Perla del Caribe,«
launched in 2015 and both featuring single
MAN B&W 8L70ME-GI engines.
TOTE is also establishing their own
LNG bunkering solutions. Keller expects
to see more private investment in general
around the world as LNG continues to
be embraced as an important environmentally
superior maritime fuel. »TOTE
is happy to support other operators interested
in LNG as they navigate the technical
and regulatory hurdles. We hope that
other maritime operators do want to use
our bunkering solutions as this would
mean more shippers using this environmentally
friendly fuel,« Keller says.
LNG conversions gain pace
In 2017, MAN and Reederei Wessels attracted
a lot of attention with the conversion
of container ship »Wes Amelie«. Its
48/60 engines were converted to 51/60DF,
a process already proved in stationary
plants. »Wes Amelie« was the first-of-its
kind maritime project.
»With TOTE it’s a bit more challenging,
since it is the first conversion of our
58/64 engines to 58/64 Retrofit engines
operating on dual-fuel. The entire technology
needs to be re-developed by our engineering
experts and tested thoroughly«,
Denis Pissarski, Strategic Marketing Manager
at MAN PrimeServ, tells HANSA.
Thus, MAN bought an old 58/64 engine
back from a customer to convert it and test
it before working on TOTE’s engines.
MAN has already signed a letter of intent
to convert three sister vessels of »Wes
Amelie«. MAN CSO Wayne Jones has
pledged a 2 mill. € discount to the next ten
conversions of HFO powered vessels to
gas engines, meaning 200,000 € each. According
to MAN this move caused high
interest and they receive many requests.
The company says, they are now able to
convert all engines in their portfolio to
dual-fuel operation.fs
HANSA International Maritime Journal – 155. Jahrgang – 2018 – Nr. 3 51