The first MAN engine, a MAN B&W 12G95ME-C10.5-LGIM unit, is rated at 82.44MW @ 80rpm , the most powerful so far, and is currently nearing completion at Chinese licensee, CSSC-MES Diesel Co. Ltd.

The 12 engines will be installed on seven 24,000teu container ships currently being built at Nantong Cosco KHI Ship Engineering for Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), and five at Dalian Cosco KHI Ship Engineering for Cosco Shipping Lines.

The engines, which can also run on conventional fuels, operate on the Diesel principle and are based on the company’s ME series of which there are about 8,500 engines in operation today. When running on green methanol, the engines will enable carbon-neutral propulsion, MAN said.

The company’s Bjarne Foldager, Head of Two-Stroke Business, said: “At MAN Energy Solutions, our vision of 'Moving Big Things to Zero' motivates everything we do in developing the engine technology to operate on those fuels vying for prominence in the future market ... By harnessing the potential of methanol, we are bringing the maritime industry closer to zero-emission solutions and we fully expect methanol to figure prominently as a future-fuel across all segments. Our thanks go to CMD, OOCL and Cosco Shipping, valued partners with whom we continue to share so many highlights.”

MAN has chosen a key moment to release details of the 12 engines. It comes as marine engine heavyweights are gathered in Zurich at the latest meeting of CIMAC – the International Council on Combustion Engines. With its timing disrupted by Covid, the week-long event that is usually held once every three years, follows CIMAC’s last meeting in Busan in 2023.

Since the 2023 meeting there have been dramatic developments in ship propulsion technologies as engine designers and builders prepare for a range of new fuels and tackle thorny issues relating to existing engines. Meanwhile, the outcome of the IMO’s recent MEPC 83 meeting has only confirmed the urgency of the challenges that are being discussed in Zurich this week.