MHI-MME brings two small bore UE engines to market

UE35LSE

JULY 7, 2014 — Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Marine Machinery & Engine Co., Ltd (MHI-MME) is to start commercial production of two advanced low speed marine diesel engines that, it says, achieve the world’s lowest fuel consumption in their class.

The UEC35LSE and UEC33LSE engines are designed to provide the best suited output and rotation speed for a wide range of ships of less than 30,000 gt, including bulkers, chemical tankers, cement carriers and other vessels. Like the UE diesel engine, their high performance was confirmed by onshore tests.

The UEC35LSE was codeveloped with Wärtsilä Corporation and the smaller bore UEC33LSE was downsized based on UEC35LSE to reduce the development period.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

The first UEC35LSE was manufactured by Kobe Diesel Co., Ltd, a licensee of UE engine, on August 2013. The engine was in the cargo passenger ship Tachibana-Maru built by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries-Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works. This ship, which is owned by Tokai Kisen, went into service in June 2014.

The first UEC33LSE was manufactured by Akasaka Diesels Limited, a licensee of UE engine, in May 2014. This engine will be installed in a Yamato Kisen Co chemical tanker built by Kitanihon Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.

In China, MHI-MME’s UE licensee, Zhejiang Yungpu Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd, has received orders from Taizhou Maple Leaf Shipbuilding Co for UEC33LSE engines for containerships