First steel was cut on prefabricated blocks for the conversion of the 14,000 teu Maersk Halifax to dual-fuel methanol propulsion in a ceremony at the Chinese shipyard held on 8 March.
The steel cutting ceremony was attended by representatives from Maersk and classification society ABS and officiated by Zhoushan Xinya Shipyard CEO Xia Songkang and marked the official start of the retrofit project.
Maersk inked a contract with the Chinese Shipyard in October last year for the world’s first methanol dual-fuel retrofit project.
Prefabrication work is being carried out ahead of the planned arrival of the Maersk Halifax in early July. The vessel is expected to spend around three months in the yard for repair and conversion work.
The engine for the project is being supplied by MAN Energy Solutions.
Zhoushan Xinya Shipyard said it had added a 500 ton gantry crane at its dock no.3 to work on the retrofit.
MAN Energy Solutions CEO Dr Uwe Lauber told Seatrade Maritime News recently that it expects to be able to carry out 50 retrofits annually worldwide, moving up to 70 – 80 per year if it has the resources. The company also has a contract with Cosco Shipping to retrofit four container ships with methanol dual-fuel engines.
Maersk is pioneering the use of methanol as fuel in large containerships and the 16,000 teu Ane Maersk was named at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in late January this year. The vessel is the first in a series of 18 large methanol enabled newbuildings ordered by Maersk.
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