Wärtsilä converts engines on three Chevron LNG carriers to curb methane slip

Finnish engine maker Wärtsilä has switched one engine on each of three LNG carriers operated by Chevron Transport from dual-fuel mode to spark gas operation.

IMAGE: Chevron’s LNG carrier Asian Energy. Wärtsilä

The converted engines ignite the gas using a spark rather than diesel pilot fuel. Methane slip, the unburned methane that escapes into the atmosphere from engines burning LNG, falls to 1.1% of fuel use on an IMO weighted average, Wärtsilä estimates.

The company also said the conversion would improve efficiency, but did not quantify the gains. Three more Chevron carriers will be converted later this year and next year, taking the total to six.

Wärtsilä and Chevron first agreed on the programme in September 2024. Wärtsilä also offers the conversion to other owners with the same dual-fuel engine type in diesel-electric propulsion systems, most of them LNG carriers.

Regulators are also monitoring methane slip. The EU’s General Court found last month that the European Commission failed to set a methane slip limit for LNG-powered dual-fuel ships in its sustainable investment criteria, climate non-profit Opportunity Green said.

By Tuhin Roy

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