Swiss marine power company WinGD is set to mark a significant milestone with the upcoming installation of its latest X-S short-stroke engine design. This achievement follows the successful completion of factory acceptance tests in March in collaboration with engine builder Dalian Marine Diesel.
The installation will involve the six-cylinder, 62cm-bore 6X62-S2.0 engine, which will be fitted onto a pulp carrier currently under construction for a Chinese owner at the COSCO Dalian shipyard.
Also, the X-S series represents a progression from WinGD’s renowned RT-flex50 and RT-flex58 engines. Available in 52cm and 62cm bore sizes, this new series caters to a variety of fuel options, including traditional diesel and dual-fuel LNG, methanol, and ammonia operations.
Characterized by its compact and straightforward design, coupled with outstanding fuel efficiency—approximately 10g/kWh lower than equivalent RT-flex engines, resulting in savings of around 4% depending on the operating profile—the X-S platform is particularly suitable for vessels that benefit from short-stroke engines.
“The factory test for our first X-S engine confirms that this new generation of short-stroke engines delivers outstanding value for ship operators, providing significant operating cost advantages while enabling high efficiency in compact ship designs. We anticipate strong uptake as the global fleet of merchant vessels using short-stroke engines is renewed and prepares for future regulation demands,” stated Volkmar Galke, director of sales of WinGD.
The X-S series, characterized by its shorter stroke length and higher engine speeds, enables smaller propellers to generate comparable power to long-stroke engines with similar cylinder bore sizes. This compact design is particularly well-suited for vessels operating in shallow drafts or requiring lower main deck or engine room heights. Among the current users of short-stroke engines are container feeders, car carriers, multipurpose cargo vessels, ro-ro/con-ro vessels, and various others. Additionally, the X-S series has been specifically engineered to make short-stroke engines an appealing power solution for bulk carriers and tanker vessels that don’t necessitate the largest engine bore sizes.
Furthermore, aside from reducing fuel consumption, the operational costs of the new X-S engines offer further efficiencies owing to their robust and lightweight design. Maintenance is simplified due to the reduced piston height, while these engines also boast extended intervals between overhauls compared to previous short-stroke engine iterations.
According to a statement, for dual-fuel X-S engines, intelligent control through exhaust recycling (iCER) enables vessels to lower fuel consumption and meet Tier III NOx requirements in both gas and diesel modes without the need for separate selective catalytic reduction (SCR), while also decreasing methane slip when utilizing LNG.
Preparations are currently underway for the first installation of an iCER-equipped X-S engine on a 7,000 CEU pure car/truck carrier (PCTC). These X62DF-S engines will also incorporate WinGD’s Variable Compression Ratio (VCR) technology, enabling further efficiency enhancements by dynamically optimizing engine compression ratio based on the fuel used, engine load, ambient conditions, and other parameters.
