Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd has booked the HFO-to-LNG conversion, reports Logistics Middle East.
HFO to LNG conversion
Hapag-Lloyd has registered the HFO-to-LNG conversion of UASC’s 15,000 TEU ‘LNG-ready’ container ship, Sajir, acquired in its 2017 take-over of the Middle East shipping line.
The work will be carried out at China’s Huarun Dadong Shipyard in May 2020.
Duration and cost for the conversion
The project to convert the existing MAN Energy Solutions’ ME-GI engine is expected to take 105 days and cost $30m and will be the largest container ship engine conversion to date.
Approach to comply with 2020 regulations
If the pilot project is completed successfully, as expected, another 16 large LNG-ready container ships acquired in the UASC take-over are likely to undergo similar conversions, said Anthony Firmin, Hapag Lloyd’s COO.
New ships ordered by the company in the future are also likely to be powered by LNG.
This was a strategy, he explained, to comply with existing fuel regulations and likely new ones in the future.
Financial and environmental benefits
Even 0.1% sulphur fuel is far in excess of shore regulations for vehicles, so further SOx regulations are likely in the future. The project should result in carbon dioxide savings of between 15-25% – probably around 23%.
The ship’s conversion will mean the loss of about 300 teu in cargo carrying capacity but the conversion is expected to yield substantial benefits, both financially and environmentally.
LNG prices are continuing to fall, Firmin pointed out, and may well continue a downward path.
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Source: Logisticsmiddleeast
