WinGD and Hyundai deliver first Tier III X72 engine

The six-cylinder engine was built by HHI’s Engine & Machinery division in Ulsan, South Korea, and employs a compact, pre-turbocharger selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system supplied by HHI. It demonstrated its ability to reduce the engine’s NOx emissions below IMO Tier III limits at a shop test on 23 March 2016.

According to HHI, putting the SCR catalyst in the hotter exhaust gases before the turbocharger turbine helps to achieve the temperature required for the NOx-reducing reaction between exhaust gasses and the urea reducing agent.

Following the test, the 15,080kW rated engine (at 74.7 rpm) was delivered to Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, where it will be installed into a 159,000 dwt product tanker.

The test was witnessed by representatives of class societies American Bureau of Shipping and Korean Register as well as Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and SeaQuest Marine Project Management.

Thomas Werner, Tier III programme manager R&D, WinGD, said: “This demonstration of the ability of our two-stroke engines to comply with IMO Tier III is a clear statement of intent from WinGD and its engine manufacturers to provide ship owners with the engines they need to operate in ECAs. The ship powered by the Wärtsilä X72 engine will be one of the first capable of complying with IMO Tier III when trading with the USA and Canada.”

Tier III NOx emission limits entered force at the start of January and to date only apply in the North American & Caribbean ECAs.