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WinGD announced this contract in a statement on Tuesday saying the engines will power eight newbuild LNG carriers.
According to WinGD, the “major shipowner” was influenced by WinGD’s track record for reliable operation of the X-DF concept and successful operational experience since the first series of X-DF2.0 engines were delivered earlier this year.
WinGD said the order was received relatively late in the newbuilding planning phase as operational and delivery concerns arose around the engines originally selected.
“Despite the timing, close collaboration with engine builder, yard and shipowner – which already uses X-DF engines on several LNG carriers – ensured that construction was not delayed,” it said.
“Although we aim to be the first choice, we were delighted to add to our orderbook from a significant customer,” WinGD director sales, Volkmar Galke said.
“With the longest established low-pressure two-stroke engine in the market and strong relationships with engine builders and shipyards, we were well placed to pick up the process quickly once the owner decided to switch engine type,” Galke said.
WinGD did not provide any other details regarding the owner of the LNG carriers or the previous engines.
ME-GA
Shipbuilding sources said that the switch was made from ME-GA dual-fuel engines to X-DF engines.
According to the sources, more moves such as this order are expected to follow.
In October, German engine maker MAN Energy Solutions said it will no longer offer its ME-GA engine, which was designed for the LNG carrier market.
Volkswagen’s MAN unveiled the ME-GA dual-fuel engine in March 2021, describing it as an Otto-cycle variant of the company’s ME-GI engine.
“With a view to expected changes in IMO regulations (IMO Green House Gas Strategy, MARPOL Annex VI, and the NO Technical Code 2008), to be adopted in April 2025, and the performance of our engines, we are constantly reviewing our product portfolio,” MAN said in a letter sent to its customers dated October 17.
According to MAN, this review would call for “significant” technical updates and investments for the G7OME-C10.5-GA type engine.
“Therefore, we have decided to no longer offer the G7OME-C10.5-GA engine as of October 18, 2024,” the engine maker said.
In 2022, MAN said it had received 100 orders for its ME-GA engine since introducing it in 2021, all for LNG carriers.
Last year, MAN announced that the first ME-GA engine had completed gas trials aboard an LNG carrier built by HD Hyundai Samho for Norwegian shipping company Knutsen.
According to MAN’s website, the company has received more than 270 orders for ME-GA engines since May 2021.
Sources previously told LNG Prime the orders were mostly from South Korean yards, but one Chinese shipyard also booked MAN ME-GA engines for LNG carriers.