Athens-based ship management company Almi Tankers S.A. will be the first[ds_preview] to equip two VLCCs with the new 7G80ME-C9.2 engine launched by MAN Diesel & Turbo. The engines will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea with test bed running in January 2013 and the vessels at DSME in South Korea with delivery scheduled for May and December 2013. The shipping industry is currently debating whether or not VLCC lay-out speed should be reduced to 13 kn from the existing 15 to 15.5 kn, a scenario which the G80 meets. Ole Grøne, Senior Vice President Low-Speed Promotion & Sales at MAN Diesel & Turbo, said: »Traditionally, super long stroke S-type engines, with relatively low engine speeds, have been applied as prime movers in tankers.« It is estimated that such new designs offer potential fuel-consumption savings of some 4 to 7 %, and a similar reduction in CO2 emissions. Simultaneously, the engine itself can achieve a high thermal efficiency.
