Wärtsilä to supply dual-fuel engines for LNG bunkering ship

Wärtsilä has announced that it will supply three Wärtsilä 25DF dual-fuel engines for a new 18,600 cubic metre (m3) capacity LNG Bunkering vessel being built for Spanish operator Ibaizabal.

The engines will utilise Wärtsilä’s unique NextDF technology, which reportedly decreases methane emissions while running with LNG fuel.

The ship is being built at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding yard in China, and Wärtsilä has secured the order for Q4 2024.

The NextDF function significantly minimises methane emissions, reaching as low as 1.1 per cent throughout a wide load range.

Furthermore, nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are lower than those of the ordinary Wärtsilä 25DF engine, which already emits at levels below IMO Tier III.

Jose Maria Torre, Fleet Director of Ibaizabal Group, said: “Our company strategy and commitment is for our vessels to be as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible.

“In line with current and anticipated regulations – both at an international and regional level – we carefully evaluated the fuel consumption and emission performance together with Wärtsilä, concluding that the Wärtsilä 25DF engine with the NextDF feature would best support us in achieving our sustainability goals.

“Wärtsilä’s state-of-art technology not only represents a major step forward in achieving our own decarbonisation strategy for our fleet, but for the charterer of the vessel. The decision by them to charter this vessel was down to it having the best performance and lowest emissions for that type of vessel.”

The equipment is scheduled for fast-track delivery to the yard in September 2025.

The ship is anticipated to be delivered by the end of 2026.

Recently, Wärtsilä Gas Solutions announced that it will supply the cargo handling systems for three 45,000 metre-cubed gas carrier vessels being built at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) in Korea.