Tokyo: Hitachi Zosen Diesel & Engineering today celebrated the completion of its first Wärtsilä RT-flex common-rail marine diesel engine at its Ariake Machinery Works in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Hitachi is the eleventh licensed engine builder to manufacture Wärtsilä RT-flex engines (pictured) that feature a maximum continuous power of 9960 kW (13,560 bhp) at 124 rpm..
The 6-cylinder Wärtsilä RT-flex50-B engine built by Hitachi will be delivered to Nanjing Wujiazui Shipbuilding in China for installation onboard a 1085teu containership being built for a German owner. The company has further orders for a total of 26 RT-flex50 engines from shipyards in China and Brazil.
Wärtsilä RT-flex marine low-speed engines incorporate the latest electronically-controlled common-rail technology for fuel injection and valve actuation. The new technology is said to provide great flexibility in engine setting, bringing benefits in lower fuel consumption, lower minimum running speeds, smokeless operation at all running speeds, and better control of other exhaust emissions. Wärtsilä RT-flex engines are available in eight cylinder sizes covering a power range from 5650 to 84,420 kW.
The Wärtsilä RT-flex50-B is the smallest of these, providing prime movers of up to 13,280 kW and claims to be ideally suited to the propulsion of 900-1500teu container ships, bulk carriers in the Handymax to Panamax size range, and product tankers. It is designed to meet the market needs for outstanding reliability, high efficiency, compactness, optimised manufacturing, and environmental requirements.
The first RT-flex50 engine entered service in January 2006. The engine type has been very successful in the market with more than 200 engines already sold. They are being installed in ships contracted in China, Brazil, Bulgaria, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Argentina, and Vietnam. [16/05/08]
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