Swiss marine power company WinGD will supply X-DF-M methanol-fuelled engines for a series of six container vessels to be built at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in China.
The 9,000 TEU vessels will each be powered by an X82DF-M engine built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Engine & Machinery Division (HHI-EMD), to be delivered in August 2025. The new vessel series will enter service in 2026 and 2027.
The new order, which includes options for further engines, expands WinGD’s methanol engine orders into the 82-bore size. As announced previously, early interest in the X92DF-M resulted in an order for four engines to power ultra-large container vessels being built for COSCO SHIPPING LINE.
Volkmar Galke, Director Sales, WinGD, said: “This order confirms that our X-DF-M engines will be in service long before green methanol is widely available and before regulatory requirements come into force, giving operators time to build experience with the new fuel and engines. We are delighted that one of the biggest and most influential container lines has also invested in our X-DF-M technology, sending a strong signal to all operators currently making their own alternative fuel decisions.”
As previously stated, both X-DF-M and ammonia-fuelled X-DF-A engines will be available for delivery from Q1 2025. The combustion principle and engine platform deployed for X-DF-M engines is based on the latest X-Engines from WinGD, supplemented by high-pressure methanol injection. X-series engines, including the highly efficient X92-B and X82-2.0 engine, already power many of the world’s biggest container ships.
Notable features claimed for X-DF-M engines include comparable performance with X-Engines in both methanol and diesel modes, low pilot fuel requirements achieved through precisely controlled common rail injection, and NOx Tier III compliance in both modes with selective catalytic reduction. The new engine concept will be retrofittable to the X-Engine series as soon as X-DF-M engines are available in the relevant bore sizes.
