WinGD supplies methanol engines for container ships

WinGD is to supply 10X92DF-M methanol-fuelled engines for four 16,000-TEU container ships ordered by Cosco Shipping Lines at Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou) Co. Ltd. On delivery from 2025, the vessels will be the first in China to have X92DF-M engines.

The engines will be built by Shanghai engine builder, CSSC CMD, which is developing them jointly with WinGD. Three of the ships will initially have X92-B engine installations, but these will be converted to methanol operation before entering service. The fourth ship will have a methanol-fuelled engine from the outset.

WinGD will now bring forward its timeline for developing methanol conversion packages. The engine firm will make these conversions available for X92-B engines as soon as the fourth ship in the series is delivered, thereby opening the market for engines to be converted to use the carbon-neutral fuel. 

The X92DF-M engines, WinGD explained, will be based on the X92-B engine which has proven popular with container ship owners including Cosco Shipping Line, MSC, and CMA CGM. The methanol-fuelled engine, which will use the same high-pressure Diesel combustion cycle, is expected to demonstrate the same reliability and efficiency as the X92-B, the engine company said. 

Dominik Schneiter, WinGD’s vice president, R&D, commented: "Utilising WinGD’s engine development capabilities jointly with partners serving the world’s biggest shipbuilding market allows us to better support shipowners, as demand for methanol-fuelled container vessels rapidly grows. The Cosco Shipping Lines order is an ideal move, helping us to strengthen our expertise in both newbuilds and conversions of methanol engines based on our well established X92-B platform which has proven to be a very reliable and efficient engine."

WinGD’s focus on methanol conversions runs in parallel with the company’s work on ammonia-fuelled engines as preparations for future green fuels continue.