MAN Energy Solutions has signed a Conversion Commitment Agreement with containership management company Seaspan and shipping line company Hapag-Lloyd to provide 15 “engine retrofit solutions” to convert vessels with conventional engines to be able to run on Methanol.
Seaspan said the challenge of decarbonising the maritime sector could not be done with newbuild ships alone and retrofitting existing fleets would be a “major component” of its strategy.
Seaspan executive advisor Peter Curtis said: “Developing this solution with MAN will enable the marine industry to progress its advances in decarbonisation by means of improving the performance of in-service conventional vessels.
“The challenges ahead cannot be met by new building alone. We believe that retrofitting will be a necessary and major component of both our emissions abatement program and that of the maritime industry.”
The deal includes an option for a further 45 engine retrofit solutions, if the first 15 work well and cut emissions.
Each conversion can provide a CO₂ reduction of 50,000 –70,000t each year when operating on green methanol, according to the companies.
Along with the retrofitting programme, Seaspan has commissioned 70 new ships, which will take its fleet to 200 vessels and 1.9mn TEU capacity.
Hapag-Lloyd, a shipping operator with a fleet of 250 vessels, said it aims to be carbon-neutral by 2045.
The deal was signed in Vancouver, Canada, by Seaspan president and CEO Bing Chen; Seaspan COO Torsten Pederson; MAN PrimeServ Denmark retrofits and upgrades head Jens Seeberg and MAN Energy Solutions vice president and head of R&D Brian Østergaard Sørensen,
In March, MAN Energy Solutions received the first order for its B&W G80ME-LGIM dual-fuel engines, which can operate on methanol.
