Japan builds on unique engine type

摘要

Sustained Japanese market demand for a unique type of marine propulsion engine, operating at low speed on the four-stroke cycle for direct drive of the propeller, has spurred a further development in the Niigata portfolio, now part of IHI Power Systems. Regional fleet operators' predisposition towards slow-running, four-stroke trunk piston engines, coupled with growing receptivity to LNG fuel to meet tightening environmental standards, has also seen another Japanese manufacturer, Hanshin Diesel, prepare new, all gas-burning options. Low-speed four-strokes account for a large share of the multifarious Japanese market for coastal vessel propulsion and ocean-going fishing vessels. Through the moniker 'Galapagos engines', the evolution of the generic Japanese low-speed four-stroke has been likened to animal species found only in certain places.