COSCO Group shipyard will retrofit four Cosco Line vessels to dual-fuel ME-LGIM operation with the option for further nine ships.
COSCO Heavy Industry Shanghai has signed a deal with Germany´s MAN Energy Solutions for the methanol retrofit of four main engines from Cosco Line’s ‘Camellia’ and ‘Virgo’ 13,800 and 20,000 teu class vessels.
The ships will be retrofitted to dual-fuel MAN units capable of operating on fuel-oil or methanol, in the process becoming the first vessels in Cosco’s fleet to sail on methanol.
The contract also includes an option for the retrofit of an additional nine vessels from the line’s 20,000 teu ‘Virgo’ and ‘Pisces’ classes.
The first vessel of the series is scheduled for retrofit in the second quarter of 2025 when these vessels will also become the first fitted with S90-LGIM engines to sail the world’s oceans, as the technology provider explains.
Michael Petersen, senior vice president and head of PrimeServ Denmark, said: “It’s very promising to see one of the largest shipping companies globally choosing MAN Energy Solutions as a partner to attain their decarbonisation goals.”
The new order follows on the heels of the recent methanol retrofit order by A.P. Moller – Maersk, the Danish integrated logistics company for the retrofit of the G95 main engines aboard 11 of its container vessels to dual-fuel.
“Our retrofit solutions are now accepted as a proven way of attaining dual-fuel capability to deliver lower emissions, and COSCO’s methanol retrofits are yet another instance of this.
“We are in the early days of a huge wave of dual-fuel retrofits and see many concrete projects coming online with the capacity to meet shipping’s demand for green fuels, such as e-methanol and bioLNG. We expect that owners who have opted to wait and watch over the past few years will ultimately also convert their tonnage to dual-fuel,” Mr. Petersen added.
