Four new product tankers are being built in China for German Tanker Shipping (GTS). MAN is supplying efficient and environmentally friendly engines.
Construction of the 199-metre-long vessels, designed by the Swedish design office Fartygskonstruktioner, is now to begin at Xiamen Shipbuilding. They will be ice class 1B. Delivery is planned for mid-2025. The order includes an option for the construction of two more ships. [ds_preview]
The new product tankers will have a load capacity of 41,000 tons and a Hybrid propulsion system, which combines a 4-stroke engine with a shaft generator and a battery pack. According to the information provided, there will be a powerful shore power connection on board, which can be used to operate six loading pumps simultaneously.
MAN delivers 600 kW per cylinder
Each of the MAN main engines has an output of 600 kW per cylinder and is equipped with an LP-SCR (Low-Pressure Selective Catalytic Reduction) system, which achieves NOx reduction rates of up to 90 % and thus meets the latest IMO environmental requirements.
Each engine drives an Alpha VBS1260 CP propeller via a Flender GUCK-1560 gearbox. This combination, including the intelligent Alphatronic propulsion control system, is said to provide a reliable, efficient and flexible solution to meet the all-important EEDI energy index. The tankers will also be equipped with auxiliary engines consisting of two 900 rpm GenSets and one 720 rpm GenSet. They will be built by the licensee of the German engine manufacturer, CSSC Marine Power (CMP), in China.
MAN makes conversion to methanol possible
The common rail engines can be operated with conventional fuels such as heavy fuel oil (HFO), marine diesel oil (MDO) and marine gas oil (MGO), as well as with sustainable fuels such as biodiesel (HVO and/or FAME).
They are also designed in such a way that they can be converted to run on the “green” fuel methanol if this is required at a later date. Water-lubricated stern tubes are also used, they say. This prevents oil leaks.
GTS is a shipping company based in Bremen whose fleet consists of 14 modern tankers, all of which have so far been built in Germany. Nine of them sail under the German flag, five under the Seychelles flag.
