MOVE Logistics orders methanol-ready vessel for New Zealand voyages

PHOTO: MOVe ro-ro vessel design. MOVe Logistics Group

New Zealand-based logistics company MOVE has ordered a methanol-ready ro-ro vessel, supported by $10 million in funding from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

MOVE's ro-ro vessel will carry vehicles between 13 ports in New Zealand. It will initially operate between Nelson and New Plymouth. It will have a methanol fuel tank and appropriate pipework installed.

“This ensures the new vessel is ready for the swap-in of carbon-friendly methanol powered engines as they become available,” MOVE says.

MAN Energy Solutions and Wartsila have already developed ship engines capable of burning methanol. MAN says the engine technology has been proven with over 40 of its two-stroke methanol engines sold since 2016, and 120,000 running hours on methanol.

Wartsila received its first methanol engine order from Van Oord this year. Five engines will be fitted on Van Oord’s offshore wind installation vessel newbuild by early next year.

WinGD will be testing a methanol-fuelled engine with Alfa Laval next year, expecting to launch it to the market by 2024. Rolls-Royce is working to develop one with a targeted launch date in 2026.

By Tuhin Roy

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