MAN Diesel & Turbo will support ten engine conversions to LNG with up to €2m to improve environmental efficiency.

The pledge was made by chief sales officer Wayne Jones at the UN-supported Our Ocean conference in Malta on 5-6 October. It is in line with the engine designer’s view of LNG as a replacement for heavy fuel oil, as part of shipping’s transition to ‘electricity-based synthetic fuels’ in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The company formulated its position following the Paris Agreement on Climate Change last year.

Jones said: “MAN Diesel & Turbo believes that it is time for what we call a ‘Maritime Energy Transition’ to find clean solutions for seaborne trade and transportation. We hope to play our part in moving the world’s fleet towards the clean technology our industry and our oceans deserve.”

Several other organisations and countries made pledges during the environmentalist event. For example, the European Union announced that it will commit €2.85 million to marine pollution prevention and preparedness projects and €2.5 million to marine pollution exercises to support and complement cross-border cooperation efforts.

Sweden announced the allocation of €15.6 million (SEK150 million) for at least the next three years for the Eco Bonus initiative to support less harmful shipping with the aim of shifting freight from land to sea.

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All pledges made during the event can be found here.