The engine will be installed on the fourth of a series of 16,000 TEU container vessels being built for COSCO Shipping Lines at the COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou) shipyard. As reported, the single-fuel 10X92-B engines on earlier vessels in the series will be converted to methanol once the first newbuild X-DF-M engine has been commissioned.
WinGD Vice President Research & Development Sebastian Hensel said: “After validating the methanol technology on our 920 mm bore Single Cylinder Test Engine, the 10X92DF-M is running smoothly at full load and according to our expectations. This achievement is a key moment in delivering on our promises to our customers considering methanol fuel, and I am grateful to our engine builder partner CMD and our colleagues across WinGD for their remarkable efforts.”
The engine ran with less than 5% pilot fuel and minimal pilot fuel injector opening times. WinGD’s site team at CMD reported excellent engine condition following the full methanol running. The trip function to diesel fuel and switching to methanol, at 45% and 75% engine load, were also tested. Engine testing will now proceed on schedule for delivery to the yard within the agreed timeline.
Earlier this year, COSCO Shipping Lines confirmed the selection of 9X92DF-M engines for an additional twelve 14,000 TEU vessels, reinforcing the company’s strong support for WinGD’s methanol technology. In total, WinGD has 56 X-DF-M engines on order, covering a range of bore sizes, and discussions are ongoing for several more engines.
