Engine designer WinGD showcased two of its latest 12X92DF engines for a select group of customers at China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s (CSSC) facility located outside Shanghai on 2 December. The Motorship was there to see the demonstration.

The two engines on display were the third and fourth of the series being assembled for French container operator CMA CGM’s series of nine 23,000 TEO ultra large containerships. The first engine in the series had already been sent for installation on the 400-metre long CMA CGM Jacques Saade.

The 920mm bore engines are the world’s largest two-stroke dual fuel engines and represent a considerable technological achievement by WinGD’s team of engineers.

"There were many sceptics who said it couldn't be done when they first presented the idea - including me," Klaus Heim, ceo of WinGD said during a dinner reception after the engine demonstration. "I've never been happier to be proved wrong."

The gas admission system and the micro-pilot common rail approach was scaled up from the system used in smaller bore X-DF engines.

As previously reported by The Motorship, the design team responded to the larger bore size by driving iterative improvements within the engine. The engine designer raised firing pressures and implemented a two-piston ring solution, for instance. The engine also incorporates WinGD’s new WiCE engine control system, which has enabled improvements in efficiency.

The project itself owes much to the attitude of the senior management within French container operator CMA CGM, which opted for an LNG as fuel solution in early 2017 at a time when LNG bunker infrastructure and availability was far less developed.

PRINCIPAL PARTICULARS

Type	12X92DF
Bore	920mm
Stroke	3,468mm
Stroke/bore	3.77
Maximum continuous rating	63840kW
Mean effective pressure, R1 rating	17.3 bar
Speed	80rpm
L x W x H	24m x 6m x 16m
Engine mass	2,140t