Marine Propulsion News Roundup | April 26 – US ferry battery retrofit, biofuel-powered engines and more

MAN 175D engine approved for biofuel operations

MAN Energy Solutions has confirmed that its 175D engine is formally approved for operation on biofuels, effective immediately.

The company said this applies to all standard biofuels such as HVO hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) fuels up to a content of 100 per cent. The engine itself does not require any technical adjustments.

Florian Keiler, Head of High-Speed Sales at MAN Energy Solutions, said several examples of the engine have been running on up to B30 biofuel in commercial as well as governmental applications for several years already and shown that the 175D does not suffer any loss in performance even when using these fuels.

Due to its state-of-the-art design, just a few engine components are subject to slightly higher wear, depending on the amount of biofuel and the duration of operation, added Keiler. For uninterrupted engine operation, only minor adaptations of the fuel-treatment system are necessary.

Methanol engines to power Van Oord’s newest installation vessel

Van Oord has confirmed that its installation vessel Boreas will be fitted with five methanol-fuelled engines in line with the company’s goals of reducing emissions and becoming carbon-neutral by 2050.

The engines have successfully passed their factory acceptance tests and have been handed over to Yantai CIMC Raffles Shipyard in China. They are now on their way to the shipyard where the vessel is currently being built.

Once completed, Boreas will be able to transport and install the next generation of 20MW offshore wind turbines.

Alcatraz City Cruises selects battery system for hybrid ferry

Corvus Energy has been selected by San Francisco-based tour company Alcatraz City Cruises to supply the battery system for one of its passenger ferries.

A Corvus 1,627kWh energy storage system (ESS) will be installed on the existing ferry Hornblower Hybrid NY. It will be the third vessel in the same operator’s fleet to be fitted with a Corvus ESS after the earlier vessels Alcatraz Flyer and Alcatraz Clipper.

The retrofitting on Hornblower Hybrid NY is scheduled for completion in September 2023.

Grimaldi hybrid Ro-Ros to be fitted with 5MWh battery packs

The Grimaldi Group has selected Leclanché to supply battery systems for two of its latest hybrid Ro-Ro vessels.

The ships, scheduled to be delivered in 2024, will each be fitted with 5MWh battery systems.

Each Ro-Ro vessel will measure 238 by 34 metres and will have a cargo capacity of 500 trailers and 180 cars. Their hybrid propulsion systems will also include exhaust gas scrubbers to reduce sulphur and particulate emissions.