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Another milestone in the quest for alternative, more fuel-efficient sources of power will soon be marked with the conversion of the ro-pax vessel Stena Germanica to a dual-fuel methanol propulsion system at Poland's Remontowa shipyard.

The 240-metre-long, 1,500-passenger ferry, which is to be converted over a 45-day period from January 28, 2015, looks set to be the world's first ever methanol-powered sea vessel. Approval and classification will be by surveying teams from Lloyd's Register.

Preliminary tests on a methanol-modified Wartsila engine 6ZAL40S similar to the Germanica's were overseen in Trieste by five LR teams from Lloyd's Register's Copenhagen, Trieste, Gotheburg, Venice and Southampton offices.

Roberto Costantino, Lloyd's Register's Trieste-based Lead Specialist, commented: "We carried out three days of tests on a modified engine at Wartsila's R&D laboratory so as to understand the engine performance when running with methanol. While the test engine is a similar type to the four engines on the vessel, it has fewer cylinders. So the builders are converting the existing ones on the ship."

The new fuel arrangement on the Germanica, which is owned and operated by the Swedish ferry operator Stena Line, will combine methanol as its primary fuel with marine gas fuel (MGO) as a back-up power source. Sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions are expected to be cut by 99%, nitrous oxides (NOx) by 60%, particulates by 95% and carbon dioxide (CO2) by 25%.

Stena Line's CEO Carl-Johan Hagman remarked: "The emissions from methanol are comparable to LNG, but the requirements for handling and infrastructure are much lower. The construction team are looking at and will use several different exhaust gas treatment technologies and if the methanol project is a success we will convert more vessels."

Other methanol-fuelled vessels

In January 2014, DNV GL announced that a series of 50,000-deadweight-tonne (dtw) tankers ordered by the owners Marinvest and Westfal-Larsen would be "the very first to be fuelled by methanol". The ships are scheduled for delivery in 2016.

In July, 2013, MAN Diesel & Turbo (MAN) announced that it had signed a letter of intent with Vancouver-based Waterfront Shipping for the use of four MAN ME-LGI engines on its ships. The engines are to run on a blend of 95% methanol and 5% diesel fuel. Delivery of the engines are scheduled for the summer of 2015.

Waterfront Shipping, a wholly owned subsidiary of Methanex Corporation, is a global marine transportation company specializing in the transportation of bulk chemicals and clean petroleum products.