Wärtsilä engine completes testing in China

Chinese marine engineering company, Yuchai Marine Power Co. Ltd (YCMP), has conducted a type approval test (TAT) on Finnish marine equipment manufacturer Wärtsilä’s X40 two-stroke engine.

According to Wärtsilä, the new engine successfully passed the TAT at its equipment licensee YCMP’s base in Zhuhai, China. With approval secured, the engine can be introduced to the market once sea trials, which are on-going at the moment, have been completed. The company said that meeting the SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) standards was also a notable feature of the engine’s successful testing.

Martin Wernli, Managing Director, Wärtsilä Switzerland and Vice President, Wärtsilä Ship Power, 2-stroke, said: “The TAT validation procedure is comprehensive and very demanding and we are delighted to announce that the Wärtsilä X40 engine has passed this milestone with flying colours.

"The key value adding feature of this engine is that its high level of efficiency lowers the operational costs for owners, operators and charterers. In the current market conditions, this is extremely important.”

The Wärtsilä X40 as well as the Wärtsilä X35 engines feature the company’s second-generation version of its electronically controlled common rail system with time controlled fuel injection.

The common rail system ensures that the fuel injection for each cylinder as well as the cylinder lubrication is controlled by a single module to provide fuel efficiency, increased reliability and lower operational costs.

The Wärtsilä generation X engines are also said to feature a higher stroke-to-bore ratio, thus achieving lower engine speed and lower brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC). The engines also incorporate the UNIC-flex control system, which is based on Wärtsilä's UNIC (Unified Controls) platform.

The X40 and X35 engines are said to have been manufactured for smaller bulk carriers, product tankers and container feeder vessels.