JHW has ordered five of the largest ever ethane carriers at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Offshore (DSIC) in China, each powered by an MAN B&W dual-fuel engine.

Due for delivery from mid-2017, the five Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs) will form the basis for United Ethane Carriers (UEC), a new ethane jv between Hartmann Reederei and Jaccar Holdings of Luxembourg. Long-term charters have already been arranged.

Each 85,000 cu m vessel will be fitted with a single MAN B&W 6G60ME-GI main engine able to burn ethane or conventional Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO). The engines will be constructed by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in Korea, and will meet with Tier III emission requirements with the aid of MAN Diesel & Turbo’s EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) technique.

The ME-GI engines will drive 7.6m VBS1810 propellers, the largest Mk 5 models ordered from MAN Diesel & Turbo’s propeller portfolio to date.

“The ME-GI engine appealed to us for several reasons, not least its environmental credentials with negligible slip of gas fuel, and its robust, stable combustion properties – even in heavy seas,” said Captain Ulrich Adami, fleet manager at Hartmann Schiffahrts. “We also viewed its high fuel efficiency and its flexibility of being able to run on HFO or ethane as pluses when it came to selecting main engines for our newbuildings.”