Dubai-owned DP World signs up MAN Energy in 5-year decarbonsation venture

Dubai: DP World has contracted Germany’s MAN Energy Solutions for a five-year term to create decarbonsation opportunities .The scope of the deal could be extended to another five years.

Areas of interest include green-fuels infrastructure, ‘future-proof’ conversions (LNG, methanol, ammonia, etc.), hybrid drives, electric engines R&D and training to further reduce the environmental impact of shipping traffic in terms of fuel consumption and emissions.

“To achieve net zero emissions, we must recognize the importance of taking urgent and immediate steps to decarbonize shipping,” said Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, DP World’s Chairman and CEO. “The way to do that is by identifying opportunities to forge partnerships with leading industry players and governments to develop solutions that will allow us to reap tangible results.”

MAN Energy Solutions has worked in the past with DP World, with the most recent in September when the ‘ElbBLUE’ - a containership operated by charterer Unifeeder bunkered 20 tons of green SNG (Synthetic Natural Gas) at Brunsbüttel, Germany.

This was a first in commercial shipping, and the fuel was generated from 100 per cent renewable energy via power-to-X technology.

Formerly known as the ‘Wes Amelie’, the 1,036-TEU feeder container ship was in the news in 2017 when its MAN 8L48/60B main engine was retrofitted to its four-stroke MAN 51/60DF unit to enable dual-fuel operation. This was the first such conversion of its type, and showed existing engines could be converted to LNG operation and reducing exhaust emissions.