Rolls-Royce is supplying two of its MTU 16V 4000 M55RN gas engines to Sembcorp Marine Integrated Yard, for the construction of the world’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-hybrid powered tug.

The harbour tug will be operated in Singapore by Jurong Marine Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine. The new LNG-hybrid tug is the first of 12 that Sembcorp Marine plans to design and build to replace the existing diesel-powered ones between now and 2025.

Chew Xiang Yu, head of Rolls-Royce Power Systems’ commercial marine business in Asia, said: “We are very happy to be part of Sembcorp Marine’s efforts in environmental protection and adopting new green technologies in their operations.

“The MTU marine gas engines are part of Rolls-Royce’s ‘Green and High-Tech’ programme. Without exhaust gas after-treatment, they emit no sulphur oxides only very small quantities of nitrogen oxide, and particulate mass is below the verification limit.”

This is the first LNG-hybrid tug to be powered by MTU gas engines world-wide. Designed by LMG Marin (Norway), part of the Sembcorp Marine group, to deliver a ‘65-tonne Bollard Pull (BP) with ABS Class’, the LNG-hybrid tug is scheduled to be completed in the latter part of 2021. The new gas engines can deliver performance that is comparable to a high-speed diesel engine.

The new MTU gas engines are already powering ferries operated by the Dutch shipping company Doeksen in the specially protected Wadden Sea. A Lake Constance ferry operated by Stadtwerke Konstanz will also start operating this year with the new MTU gas engines.