Norway’s Westfal-Larsen has taken delivery of Lindanger, which is claimed to be the world’s first ocean-going vessel that runs either on methanol or conventional petroleum fuels.

The vessel has been launched at the Hyundai Mipo dockyard in Ulsan, South Korea.

DNV GL Maritime CEO Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen said: "We are very pleased to see the completion and launch of this exciting and innovative new building.

“We are very pleased to see the completion and launch of this exciting and innovative new building.”

"This is the first time a dual-fuel engine with a Low Flashpoint Liquid (LFL) fuel system has been installed on an ocean-going vessel and it is a testament to the excellent cooperation between all the project partners that we have been able to complete this unique project and gain flag state approval.

"Methanol as a marine fuel is a very promising option to enable owners to reduce the environmental impact of their vessels and to comply with low sulphur and ECA regulations and we look forward to working on many more projects using this innovative marine fuel and technology."

Lindanger is equipped with a MAN-designed Hyundai-B&W 6G50ME-9.3 ME-LGI dual-fuel, two-stroke engine on-board and can run on methanol, fuel oil, marine diesel oil, or gasoil.

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It has been assigned the additional notation ‘LFL FUELLED’ to demonstrate compliance with the DNV GL rules for low flash point marine fuels.

DNV GL published rules covering LFL fuels in July 2013 in order to ensure that the arrangement and installation of these systems have an equivalent level of integrity with respect to safety and availability as a conventional system.

Waterfront Shipping president Jone Hognestad said: "Investing in methanol-based marine fuel is an important step in the right direction and reinforces our commitment to sustainable proven technology that provides environmental benefits and meets emissions regulations."

Hyundai Mipo Dockyard contract management department Man Choon Kim said: "We are so privileged to become the first shipyard in the world to deliver a methanol fuelled vessel. It will reduce SOx emissions by about 95% and NOx emissions by about 30% compared to conventional marine diesel oil.

"Methanol could become one of the popular alternative marine fuels in the future as an environment friendly solution with lower fuel costs, easier handling with the existing storage and bunkering infrastructure and lower installation and retrofit costs."

The Lindanger is the first in a series of seven vessels that will be chartered by Waterfront Shipping over the course of this year.

Four of the seven vessels are being constructed to DNV GL class, including two vessels owned by Westfal-Larsen, including the Lindanger, and two owned by a joint venture between Marinvest / Skagerack Invest and Waterfront Shipping.

Another three ships, where DNV GL carried out a hazard identification study, will be owned by Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL).

Waterfront is a unit of Methanex, a leading producer and supplier of methanol, and operates a fleet of 22 deep sea tankers of between 3,000 deadweight tonnage (dwt) and 50,000dwt, which are used for transporting methanol worldwide.