Engine Builder News

Hanwha and Accelleron have performed an engine part load optimization (EPLO) for Höegh Autoliners supporting long-term energy efficiency for its 7,850 CEU (Car Equivalent Units) car carrier Höegh Detroit. The success of the project to improve the vessel’s Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) rating has led to an order for EPLOs on a further seven vessels owned or operated by Höegh.At a recent sea trial, EPLO demonstrated fuel saving of 10g/kWh, equivalent to 5% of total fuel consumption.

WinGD will record the first installation of its new X-S short-stroke engine design following successful factory acceptance tests with engine builder Dalian Marine Diesel in March.The six-cylinder, 62cm-bore 6X62-S2.0 engine will be installed on a pulp carrier being built for a Chinese owner at COSCO Dalian shipyard.The X-S series succeeds the well-established RT-flex50 and RT-flex58 engines and is available in 52cm and 62cm bore sizes, for the range of fuel options including traditional diesel or dual-fuel LNG…

Accelleron has been chosen to supply turbochargers for Japanese engine builder Makita’s first small-bore two-stroke marine engine featuring exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). The step follows a successful matching test in which Accelleron’s A255-L turbocharger demonstrated high efficiency, supporting both low NOx emissions and overall fuel consumption on the Makita-built MAN B&W 6G45ME-C9.7-EGRBP engine.The Makita engine, 6G45ME-C9.7-EGRBP, will be the first of its type worldwide to feature EGR bypass…

Bramble Energy has launched the world’s first hydrogen-electric boat powered by a printed circuit board fuel cell (PCBFC™).As the lead partner in the HyTime project working alongside custom engine builder Barrus, Bramble Energy has created a demonstration vessel that it says showcases the vast potential of its PCBFC™ technology to quickly and cost-effectively decarbonise the marine sector.A 57ft narrowboat was launched in Sheffield, UK, where it has successfully completed testing.

WinGD has concluded a four-party agreement underwriting Belgian bulk carrier operator CMB.TECH’s order of X72DF-A ammonia-fueled engines.CSSC Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding (QBS) and engine builder CSSC Engine Co (CSE) were the other signatories in the joint undertaking to power a series of 210,000dwt bulk carriers to be delivered from Qingdao through 2025 and 2026.Following confirmation of the engine order, the agreement advances the project between WinGD and CMB.TECH announced in January to develop the 72-bore ammonia-engine.

Exmar LPG has ordered two ammonia-powered Midsize Gas Carriers (MGCs) from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea.According to the company, a joint venture between EXMAR and Seapeak, the ships will be the first-ever oceangoing vessels to be propelled by dual-fuel ammonia engines, allowing for close to zero emissions trading when using ammonia. The engines will be delivered by Swiss marine power company WINGD, and the fuel supply system by Finland-based Wärtsilä Gas Solutions.Carl-Antoine Saverys…

Swiss marine power company WinGD is on track to deliver its first X-DF-A dual-fuel ammonia engines by the first quarter of 2025, with the first X-DF-A powered vessels in service from 2026.The confirmation follows combustion tests at WinGD research facilities in December 2022 and is backed by concrete orders. Last month WinGD signed an agreement with AET Tankers and sister company Akademi Laut Malaysia to develop crew training on ammonia engines. In January 2023 it announced a partnership with CMB.Tech…

WinGD will supply 10X92DF-M methanol-fuelled engines to four 16,000 TEU container vessels to be built for COSCO SHIPPING Lines at COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou) Co. Ltd. These vessels will be delivered from 2025 and will feature WinGD’s first X92DF-M engines in China. The methanol engines will be delivered from engine builder CSSC CMD in Shanghai, which is jointly developing the engines with WinGD. The fourth vessel in the series will be the first to have methanol engines installed from the beginning.

With shipowners pressed to upgrade machinery to meet strict new emission targets, there’s much confusion with chatter surrounding ‘decarbonization’ and ‘future fuels’, solutions that don’t exist today – and may not exist in mass for another generation – cluttering the conversation. Enter Wabtec, formerly GE Transportation, which today offers a Tier 4 compliant engine with no need for urea. Is it the cheapest propulsion solution on the market? No. But the Pennsylvania-based engine builder mounts a compelling case for its 250MDC diesel engine based on performance…

MAN Energy Solutions announced it has signed a license agreement with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI-EMD) for MAN’s new TCT axial-turbocharger series. The deal, signed in late-December 2021, is due to run for 10 years and is the first turbocharger license agreement MAN Energy Solutions has ever signed with HHI-EMD.Generally acknowledged as the largest marine two-stroke engine builder in the world, HHI-EMD has been a low-speed licensee of MAN Energy Solutions for decades. MAN Energy…

Japanese engine builder Makita has selected ABB’s latest low-speed turbochargers for an engine being built for a chemical tanker, marking the first time that a Japanese-built engine will feature the compact, powerful A255-L turbochargers.The turbochargers will be applied on a 6S40ME-B9.5 engine built by Makita which manufactures MAN engines under the license. The A255-L is designed to provide high turbocharging efficiency from a small unit, reducing overall engine size and giving ship designers greater flexibility in engine room de-sign for small bore two-stroke marine engines…

WinGD has been calling its 12X92DF engine the world’s most powerful dual-fuel engine since the first such engine was built in 2019. Now the title is official, as the engine series has been awarded the Guinness World Records for the most powerful Otto-cycle engine ever built.In tests carried out at engine builder CSSC-MES Diesel Co (CSSC-CMD) and verified by Guinness World Records, for the official record title ‘Most powerful marine internal combustion engine (otto cycle) commercially available’…

The IMO decision of April 2018, calling the international shipping industry to decarbonize and at least halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 was an important milestone and was largely welcomed by the global engine builders’ community. Although some parties found that the IMO target could have been even more ambitious, it clearly marked a paradigm shift: improvements in existing technologies will not be enough. Only through cross-sector cooperation and an increased focus on R&D in carbon-neutral technologies (such as batteries, fuel cells, or synthetic fuels) will shipping stand a chance of reaching the IMO 2050 target.2050 – The day after tomorrow2050 may sound distant, but for the shipping community it is not.

An inspection of one of two main engines on a U.S. inland waterways vessel revealed that ExxonMobil’s Mobil Delvac 1 ESP 5W-40 diesel engine oil provided outstanding protection and cleanliness for a Cummins KTA38 marine diesel main engine after nine years of continuous use. The engine had accumulated 21,782 running hours with an initial fill of Mobil Delvac 1 ESP 5W-40 engine oil. Mobil SignumSM oil analysis was used to closely monitor the health of the engine throughout this period, with support from the ExxonMobil field engineering team.

CMR Group’s chief technical officer, Patrice Flot, considers the current approach to sensing exhaust gas temperature (EGT) on high horsepower engine platforms and the capabilities provided by new digital technology. An EGT sensor measures the temperature of the engine exhaust gas to prevent damage to critical components such as the after treatment system, turbines and cylinder head exhaust valves. It can also be used inside the combustion chambers where hot gases are generated.

Durability field-test results of ABB’s variable valve train system, Valve Control Management (VCM), have shown unprecedented success of the technology on an MTU high speed gas engine. The successful running of each VCM actuator for 7,000 hours on an engine is an important milestone for the forthcoming serialization of this technology. Typically, a durability test for serialization lasts around 5,000 hours for large engines. VCM is an electro-hydraulic valve train system for four-stroke gas and diesel engines…

At a ceremony in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province on January 16, 2016, local engine builder Yuchai Marine Power Co., Ltd. (YCMP) signed a new license agreement with MAN Diesel & Turbo for the production of MAN B&W-branded, two-stroke diesel engines. Jiang Shihong, Chairman of the Board and Hu Xuenan, CEO, represented YCMP, while MAN Diesel & Turbo was represented by Thomas S. Knudsen – Head of Two-Stroke, Ole Grøne – Senior Vice President, Two-Stroke Promotion & Sales, and Klaus Engberg – Senior Vice President and Head of Two-Stroke Licensing. Engberg said, “China is a vital market for MAN Diesel & Turbo and we are pleased to welcome Yuchai to the MAN B&W license family.

Three new 21,800 dwt chemical tankers, under construction at two different shipyards in Vietnam owned by Triyards Holdings Limited, will feature integrated Wärtsilä propulsion and power generation systems. These ships are being built for Swiss-Canadian Maritime Ltd and will be managed by Switzerland based ABC Maritime A.G. The contract with Wärtsilä was signed in November, and there are options for three more vessels. This contract represents the largest ever scope of supply that Wärtsilä is to deliver to a shipyard in Vietnam. Wärtsilä's capability for providing a total solution package and to be responsible for the engineering and integration of the solutions provided, is cited as being a key factor in the award of this contract.

Athens-based Costamare Shipping has more than tripled the piston ring replacement period to more than 55,000 hours for containership Cosco Yantian, helping the company reduce costs and improve vessel performance. According to ExxonMobil, the life extension was achieved by switching the container vessel to its Mobilgard 570 cylinder oil in combination with the MobilGard Cylinder Condition Monitoring (CCM) program. The expected piston overhaul interval for the Cosco Yantian’s MAN Diesel & Turbo 12K98MC MK7 engine was 16,000 hours of unmonitored operation. Following a consultation with ExxonMobil’s Field Engineers, it was suggested that the vessel operator introduce Mobilgard 570 and the MobilGard CCM program.

At Norshipping in Oslo, Wärtsilä introduced the Wärtsilä 31, self-described by the company as a transcendent power plant in terms of fuel efficiency and economy, a claim validated by the Guinness World Records which has stamped it as the most efficient four-stroke diesel engine in the world. Björn Rosengren, President and CEO of Wärtsilä, sat with Maritime Reporter to lend perspective and insight to this development and the maritime market as a whole. Wärtsilä President & CEO Björn Rosengren was beaming at the introduction of the Wärtsilä 31 to the world at last month’s Norshipping…

Swedish ferry operator Stena Line has announced that it has converted the Stena Germanica to run on methanol, an industry first. The company spent $24 million on converting the ship to methanol. The ferry re-entered service on March 26, serving its route on the Baltic sea between Kiel, Germany, and Goteberg, Sweden. The 240m, 1,500-passenger, 2001-built ro-pax ship underwent conversion in Poland’s Remontowa shipyard. The project was performed in conjunction with engine builder Wärtsilä, the ports of Gothenburg and Kiel, and gas supplier Methanex.

MAN Diesel & Turbo reports that its ME-GI engine has now received more than 100 orders. FLEX LNG announced on February 2 that two-stroke slow-speed ME-GI main engines will be used as the propulsion system for two LNG carriers to be built at Samsung Heavy Industries. The expected delivery dates of the vessels have been postponed from Q1 2017 to Q1 and Q2 2018. Ole Grøne, Senior Vice President Low-Speed Sales and Promotions, MAN Diesel & Turbo, said, “With our ME-GI order book now having passed the 100-unit milestone…

The Stena Line's ferry Stena Germanica will become the world's first ferry to use methanol as a fuel. The 240m, 1,500-passenger, 2001-built ro-pax ship will soon undergo conversions in Poland’s Remontowa shipyard. The aim of the exercise is to drastically cut exhaust emissions on the ship which operates between Gothenburg and Kiel. The conversion is with the aim of becoming the first ship of its type to run on methanol when completed soon. The project is being undertaken in conjunction with engine builder Wärtsilä, the ports of Gothenburg and Kiel and gas supplier Methanex. The six-week conversion, expected to cost around euro 22million, will get underway at Remontowa, and is being financially supported by the EU “Motorways of the Seas” initiative.