World Bunkering > News > Industry News > Owners rushing to order turbocharger cut-outs

Engine manufacturer MAN Diesel & Turbo it new turbocharger cut-out system has attracted “great interest” from shipowners and managers and has proven its worth during tests and installations. MAN says it developed the cut-out as a response to the needs of the shipping market for a more flexible utilization of both full and part load operation

MAN notes that the sailing pattern of the largest container vessels, especially between Asia and Europe, has changed recently as a result of factors such as more available tonnage, increased fuel prices and general acceptance of slow-steaming as a viable strategy.

“Now,” a statement says, “there are often asymmetrical requirements to the shipping time (and thus engine load levels) on the Europe-Asia trading route. This makes it beneficial to change between full and part load, depending on route direction. Turbocharger cut-out with swing gate valves permits a frequent change between full and part load operation without manually having to install and remove blinding plates.”

The manager of PrimeServ Copenhagen’s retrofit department Peter Rytter Jensen says: “After the system for retrofit installation has been thoroughly tested and several of the biggest shipowners have placed orders, the interest and determination to install turbocharger cut-out on vessels have soared.” says. He continues: “The big advantage is that you have a flexible solution to save on fuel oil. A lot of customers need to be able to continue to have the possibility of running on full load, but at the same time saving fuel oil when they are slowsteaming”.

The company says that turbocharger cut-out has been on the market for about a year, but the latest six months have been the most hectic in the department handling enquiries.

“Now we have a handful of installations in service, but there is a huge number of orders from the last few months waiting to be installed. It really has the attention of the biggest shipowners out there”, Mr. Jensen adds.

MAN says that recent tests have proven that large container vessels, powered by e.g. a 12K98MC on slow-steaming at 40% MCR, can save 8 grams HFO per kWh when one out of three turbochargers is disconnected. This corresponds to a reduction of about 5%. When there is a need to increase power to full load, the turbocharger cut-out with swing gate can  be opened without manual intervention.