Dutch Shipyard Orders GenSets for Groundbreaking Easymax 5 Project with Royal Wagenborg
The Royal Niestern Sander shipyard in the Netherlands has placed an order for two MAN 16V175D MEM engines to be installed aboard Easymax 5, a multi-purpose vessel (MPV) currently under construction for Wagenborg. These GenSets will support the vessel’s auxiliary systems during CO₂ discharge operations, as it takes on a critical role in offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) efforts in the Danish North Sea.
Set to become the fifth vessel under the Easymax design—developed collaboratively by Wagenborg and Niestern Sander—the Easymax 5 will have a cargo capacity of 14,000 tons and will be chartered by Danish chemical giant Ineos. Once operational, the ship will transport liquefied carbon dioxide from a biogas plant in Denmark to the port of Esbjerg, where it will be loaded before heading offshore to the Greensand storage site.
This is where the MAN 175D GenSets step in. Their role is to provide additional power to the CO₂ pumping and dynamic positioning (DP2) systems as the vessel discharges its load into subsea storage reservoirs. The engines, each rated at 2,400 kWm and 1,800 rpm, are slated for delivery in 2025.
“This order represents a new type of reference for the 175D,” said Bart Speckens, Regional Sales Manager at MAN Energy Solutions. “In general, the 175D is a versatile engine with the lowest environmental footprint and operating costs in its class due to its high fuel-efficiency and long service-intervals.”
And this is no ordinary cargo. The CO₂ being transported and stored is captured from biogenic sources—specifically a Danish biogas plant—providing a tangible link between maritime logistics and broader decarbonization strategies. Once injected into the Greensand field, the CO₂ is expected to remain locked beneath the seabed, reducing emissions from hard-to-abate industries in line with EU and global climate targets.
The involvement of MAN Energy Solutions reflects a broader push within the maritime sector to align with net-zero ambitions. Beyond engines, the company also supplies CO₂ compression technologies currently in use at eight of the world’s 18 commercial-scale carbon capture facilities. Their motto, “Moving Big Things to Zero,” speaks directly to the scale and urgency of the transition underway.
From an engineering standpoint, the Easymax 5 represents a convergence of vessel design, low-emission propulsion, and industrial decarbonization. As CCS grows as a strategy to mitigate climate change, vessels like Easymax 5—and the technologies powering them—are emerging as key assets in the supply chain of carbon sequestration.
