In uncertain times, how do ship owners and operators select the propulsion investments that will power their next generation of vessels through upcoming emissions targets?
For WinGD, the answer lies in advancing the reliability, efficiency and emissions performance of its engine platform, while building in the flexibility to operate on clean fuels. The latest advance in WinGD’s dual-fuel X-DF engine platform precisely illustrates this drive.
While the use of LNG as fuel in marine engines has the potential to reduce shipping’s
greenhouse gas (GHG) impact, the emission of unburned methane from engines – known as methane slip – can compromise that reduction. As methane is the main component of LNG, any slip also represents wasted fuel. These two factors drove WinGD to seek better ways to minimise methane slip when it developed its second-generation X-DF technology.
Low-pressure two-stroke engines already offer benefits compared to both four-stroke
engines, which have higher methane slip and GHG emissions, and high-pressure Dieselcycle engines, which demand a more costly installation and cannot meet IMO Tier III NOx emissions in gas mode without aftertreatment. The NOx advantage will be particularly important as the North Sea and Baltic Sea introduce a NOx Emission Control Area from 2021, with further zones currently under discussion.
