The biggest challenge from the impending sulphur cap regulation and the industry’s decarbonization ambitions for engine makers is the decision on which fuel will be used, according to Wayne Jones OBE, Chief Sales Officer and Member of the Executive Board of MAN Energy Solution.
Speaking at the 4th annual Naftemporiki Shipping Conference, held in Athens on October 3, 2018, Jones said that the issue of the fuel choice is a question of picking a fuel that doesn’t only meet the regulations of today, but those of tomorrow as well.
“What will everyone use in the future or will there be a myriad of fuels? For me, the only way forward is to go with gaseous fuels – and the infrastructure will follow in due course,” Jones said.
“MAN Energy Solutions believes fully in its technology, to the extent that we pledge to subsidize the first 10 shipowners that convert their engines to LNG or a gas-derived fuel – up to a cumulative total of EUR 2 million – because I think someone has to stimulate the industry to think more holistically and long-term.”
The company believes that it is time for the maritime industry to find clean, decarbonized solutions for seaborne trade and transportation. The best way of doing so, according to MAN, is to establish natural gases as the fuels of choice in global shipping.
The company strongly promotes a global ‘turn to gas’, driven by the IMO, and a common approach by the shipping industry and politics to invest in infrastructure development and retrofits.
MAN Energy Solutions’ entire portfolio of dual-fuel engines, all running on clean fuels such as LNG and LPG, has secured almost 400 projects in total so far, the company said.