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TOTE Maritime Alaska, a daughter company of TOTE Inc., recently contracted MAN PrimeServ - MAN Diesel & Turbo's after-sales division - to convert the North Star and Midnight Sun to dual-fuel operation on LNG.

The roll on/off ships are currently both powered by four MAN 58/64 engines and will be retrofitted to MAN 58/64 retrofit units. The contract, signed in April 2017, covers the design, development and testing of what is described as a "first-of-its-kind" dual-fuel kit that will be used for "the largest LNG conversion in North America".

Dr. Thomas Spindler, Head of Upgrades & Retrofits at MAN PrimeServ Augsburg, explained: "To meet TOTE's requirements, we have developed a solution based on our well-proven 51/60DF retrofit. Accordingly, the engineering approach to the 58/64 retrofit is very familiar to us, and this project represents a straightforward conversion procedure."

Spindler added: "The investment will be of huge benefit to the customer on several fronts: not only will the retrofitted engines meet all new emission standards; the new components they receive during conversion will significantly extend their working life."

"We have been investigating and testing many options for shifting the fleet to LNG. The conversion of the existing engines is the most reliable and beneficial solution," said Peter Keller, Executive Vice President of TOTE. "This innovative solution that has been developed in partnership with MAN, will be an important milestone for the industry as we all prepare for the IMO sulphur cap in 2020."

TOTE Maritime Alaska handles approximately one-third of the goods transportation between the continental US and Alaska. Both the North Star and Midnight Sun operate routes between Anchorage, Alaska and Tacoma, Washington.

The two Orca-class ships were originally constructed by General Dynamics NASSCO at its San Diego yard and were commissioned in 2003.

TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, another TOTE company, is notable for ordering the world's first LNG-powered Marlin class container ships, the Isla Bella and Perla del Caribe, launched in 2015 and both featuring single MAN B&W 8L70ME-GI engines.