Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and the Finnish firm of Wärtsilä are to jointly design and develop new small, low-speed marine diesel engines.
The engines would be targeted at a variety of small ship types such as bulk carriers, product tankers, chemical tankers, and container vessels.
Details of the engines will be announced in a few months time after initial design studies have been completed.
The agreement between the two companies is an extension of a strategic alliance created by MHI and Wärtsilä in September 2005. The alliance was formed after the successful joint development of the Wärtsilä RT-flex50 and Mitsubishi UEC50LSE low-speed engine types.
Today, Wärtsilä and MHI both offer their own low-speed marine diesel engines. Wärtsilä's ranges in power from 5,650kW to 84,420kW, while MHI ranges from 1,120kW to 46,800kW.
Any new engines developed as a result of the collaboration would be built by Wärtsilä’s and Mistubishi’s licensees worldwide.
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