Belgian owner and operator of gas carriers Exmar has opted for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as marine fuel for its two LPG carriers ordered in December 2017 to support a transport deal with Norwegian oil major Statoil.
The arrangement allows for the part of the cargo to be used for the vessels’ propulsion.
As informed, the vessels design is being developed in cooperation with the Lloyds Register as classification society and MAN Diesel & Turbo as the engine maker.
The two very large gas carriers will be built by Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction at Subic Bay (Philippines), slated for delivery within the third quarter of 2020.
The move is in line with the industry-wide efforts to prepare for the upcoming IMO sulphur cap set to take effect in 2020.
LPG as a fuel doesn’t contain any sulfur and substantially reduces CO2 and NOx emissions whereas particulate matters are almost halved as compared to a fuel-only engine.
Furthermore, LPG has been described by industry experts as an easier solution than LNG as there are a lot of small ships that can carry out LPG bunkering, cutting costs for owners as there is no need for a large investment in bunkering infrastructure.
Earlier last month, MAN Diesel & Turbo signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hyundai Heavy Industries Engine & Machinery Division (HHI-EMD) on the development and production of MAN B&W ME-LGIP dual-fuel engines.
Upon completion, HHI-EMD will be able to deliver liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) –fuelled, two-stroke-propulsion engines.
The alliance creation comes on the back of ever more stringent environmental regulations, which have seen LPG carriers call for the development of an LPG-fuelled engine for their ships.