Dual-fuel engines to power EPS vessels chartered by Rio Tinto Group
New Times Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., located in Jiangsu Province, China, has ordered 3 × MAN B&W 6G70ME-GI engines in connection with the construction of 3 × 210,000 dwt bulkcarriers for Eastern Pacific (EPS), the Singapore-based shipping company. CSSC-MES Diesel (CMD) will build the engines in China, while Rio Tinto – the metals and mining multinational – will charter the vessels upon their entering service. The contract includes an option for three further vessels.
The new order comes shortly after MAN Energy Solutions received an order for 5 × 6G70ME-GI Mk 10.5 dual-fuel engines in October 2020 in connection with the construction of 5 × 210,000-dwt Newcastlemax bulkcarriers, again for EPS, which will subsequently be chartered to Australian mining giant, BHP, for a period of five years.
Thomas S. Hansen, Head of Promotion and Customer Support, MAN Energy Solutions, said: “The ME-GI engine is now the market standard for large, dual-fuel bulk carriers as the value chain in the segment has further increased its focus on decarbonisation. Here, this mature technology’s negligible methane-slip and the inherent potential of alternative fuels, such as LNG, are significant advantages and demonstrate to the industry that viable options for lowering carbon footprints exist. These vessels will be among the cleanest and most efficient in their segment, as well as being IMO 2030-compliant well in advance of the legislation.”
MAN Energy Solutions states that its low-speed, dual-fuel references now exceed 374 units, with the ME-GI recording over 1.6 million operating hours on LNG alone.
About EPS
With a history spanning 60 years, Eastern Pacific Shipping Pte. Ltd. (EPS) is a leading shipping company that is committed to the green and technology-driven growth of the industry. Headquartered in Singapore for the past 30 years, EPS is driven by its mission to be the safe and efficient transportation provider of choice to the shipping industry. Empowering that mission is a 5,000 strong and growing workforce across sea and shore. They oversee a versatile fleet of 17 million deadweight-tonnes across three core segments of containership, dry bulk, and tanker vessels. EPS’ shore team is fully integrated with in-house commercial, finance, innovation, IT, legal, manning, operations, and technical departments.
MAN Energy Solutions enables its customers to achieve sustainable value creation in the transition towards a carbon neutral future. Addressing tomorrow’s challenges within the marine, energy and industrial sectors, we improve efficiency and performance at a systemic level. Leading the way in advanced engineering for more than 250 years, we provide a unique portfolio of technologies.
Headquartered in Germany, MAN Energy Solutions employs some 14,000 people at over 120 sites globally. Our after-sales brand, MAN PrimeServ, offers a vast network of service centres to our customers all over the world.
