With positive performances in the global LNG market, competition in fuel-efficiency of LNG carriers is expected to be fierce due to the increasing ton-mile demand caused by growing operation distance.  

Park Moo-Hyun, a researcher of E*Trade Securities of Korea, has said, “There are more and more shipowners who want ME-GI engine.”  He continued that in terms of fuel consumption, a steam turbine, a propulsion unit of Moss type LNG carriers which are mostly built by Japanese shipyards, consume 160 tons of bunker fuel a day, while DFDE engine consumes 123 tons and ME-GI below 100 tons a day.

Park also said that the LNG carrier contracted by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering of Korea with Canada’s Teekay at the end of 2012 is the first vessel to be equipped with ME-GI engine and this can be compared at the same level with an incident that a share of LNG carriers of Japanese shipbuilding industry dropped after Samsung Heavy Industries of Korea started to ink contracts for LNG carriers equipped with DFDE engine for the first time in the industry.  

He added that Russia’s Gazprom has shown an interest in LNG carrier with ME-GI engine and other shipowners who already ordered the vessels are considering changing the propulsion engine to ME-GI, forecasting that the shipowners’ interests in ME-GI engine are expected to grow greatly.