Graphical rendering of the ‘MySTAR’, which will be powered by 5 × MAN 8L51/60DF dual-fuel main engines (picture courtesy RMC)
MAN Re-Enters Finnish Market with Baltic Order
MAN 51/60DF engines running on LNG to power innovative Estonian shuttle ferry built by RMC
Copenhagen, 11th March 2020 − MAN Energy Solutions has won the order to supply the engines for a shuttle ferry newbuilding for Tallink Grupp, the Estonian shipping company. A diesel-electric plant comprising 5 × MAN 51/60DF dual-fuel main engines – with LNG as primary fuel – will power the ‘MyStar’, which Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) will construct at its yard in SW Finland. Delivery to the customer is scheduled for early 2022. Upon entering service, the vessel will serve the important Tallinn-Helsinki route.
Lex Nijsen, Head of Four-Stroke Marine Sales, MAN Energy Solutions said: “Finland is always such an innovative market and it’s very pleasing to land this order. This agreement marks the second car and passenger ferry for RMC this year and we are very pleased that they have chosen to go with our 51/60DF units this time. The engines performed strongly on the test bed, showcasing such characteristic advantages as load behavior and pure gas start, which ultimately led Tallink to choose MAN.”
The MAN 51/60DF engine is a dual-fuel engine that converts liquid fuel (diesel operation) or natural gas into electrical power efficiently and with low emissions*
The ferry newbuilding NB6003 will utilise the newest technology and innovative solutions, with the aim of building the most environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient vessel possible.
Jyrki Heinimaa, CEO, Rauma Marine Constructions said: “Compared to Tallink’s newest shuttle ferry, ‘Megastar’, which also operates between Helsinki and Tallinn, the MyStar’s design – featuring the MAN main drivers – will reduce the ferry’s emissions even further.”
Nijsen added “This is the second agreement we have made for the 51/60DF within a short period of time in the Baltic after TT-Line placed its RoPax order earlier this year. With this new order, we are really putting the 51/60DF – and MAN engines in general – in the shop window at a time when the Finnish market has many interesting projects underway. We look forward to the future with confidence.”
The NB6003 Tallink MyStar is the biggest vessel to date that RMC has agreed to build. The new shuttle ferry will be approximately 212 metres long with a gross tonnage of some 50,000 dwt. It will be able to accommodate 2,800 passengers.
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*The engine is able to switch smoothly and seamlessly from gas to liquid fuel operation (and vice versa) at full load without any output and speed fluctuations. This feature makes it possible to use the engine in many different applications with a variety of fuels.
