A good 3.7% of global CO₂ emissions are down to sea transport. That’s 1.2 billion tons – around the same amount as in air transport. And although a modern container ship can carry as much as 10,000 trucks, ships are also responsible for approximately 10% of the world’s sulfur dioxide emissions and a quarter of the nitrogen oxide emissions. In total, global ship transport emits 900,000 tons of suspended particulate per year – roughly half as much as all road transport. Around 95% of global long-distance freight transport takes place on board ships. Approximately 100,000 ships of varying types consume around 400 million tons of fuel, emitting enormous quantities of pollutants as a result.

Powerful figures that make one thing clear: the technical innovations MAN is driving forward in marine engines are of great importance for climate protection. Because the MAN Group is also doing everything it can to reduce fuel consumption and emissions in marine engines, too.

Marine diesels account for higher specific emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulates in daily use than truck diesels. On cost grounds, marine diesels burn cheaper heavy oil instead of cleaned diesel. Here, MAN is developing diesel technology that generates positive effects even in difficult situations.

One package of measures with significant effect is exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) developed by MAN Diesel engineers in collaboration with the Danish shipping line A.P. Moller-Maersk. The goal: Reduce the emission of sulfur dioxide by 50% with just 20% exhaust gas recirculation.

The cooperation between MAN Diesel and the Danish shipping line Moller-Maersk is part of the Danish “Green Ship of the Future” ocean initiative to reduce marine engine fuel consumption and, with it CO₂ emissions, by 30% as well as reducing sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions by 90% in the longer term. Other members of the initiative include Odense Steel Shipyard, Aalborg Industries and around a dozen other partners – shipping lines, parts suppliers and Danish universities, amongst them the Technical University of Denmark. “Green Ship of the Future” has already been awarded the International Environmental Award by the Sustainable Shipping organization for the most environmentally-friendly transport initiative.

Furthermore, MAN Diesel continues to further develop proven concepts such as the marine engine turbocharger. The engineers achieved a breakthrough with “Variable Turbine Area” (VTA): RPM-dependant nozzle rings with adjustable blades in the turbocharger reduce fuel consumption and emission of pollutants. The result is optimization over the entire operating range by precisely adjusting the entry of air and fuel according to the engine load.

A further area of MAN Diesel development is common rail technology, which stands for greater performance and lower consumption, not only in automobile construction, but also in marine engines. Superior technology and performance were responsible for securing MAN Diesel a large order from the Swiss Allseas Group for nine large-bore diesel engines with common rail technology and a total performance of almost 95 MW. From 2010, they will power the world’s largest ship, the ‘Pieter Schelte’. This special ship for the construction of oilrigs on the high seas has a double hull, is 360 meters long and 117 meters wide. The cranes provide a lifting capacity of 48,000 tons – a world record. The nine MAN Diesel engines meet the immense energy requirements of this special floating leviathan. The technical details are formidable: eight V engines each with twenty cylinders, plus a nine cylinder straight engine. In total, 169 cylinders each delivering a capacity of 560 kW.

MAN Diesel works in many areas on the development of new engine technology to make marine traffic more powerful, more efficient and more environmentally compatible. Just one example of how MAN technology moves the world.

MAN. Engineering the Future — since 1758.