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Wärtsilä has announced the release of its Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel engine for sale in the US market.

"The engine meets the strict emissions compliance criteria of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tier 4 and is now available to American ship owners and operators. The Wärtsilä 20DF is a proven and successful engine, and its release to the US market is in response to the growing demand for natural gas fueled engines," Wärtsilä said in a statement.

"By extending the availability of dual-fuel engine technology, Wärtsilä now offers the American marine sector greater possibilities to select fuel that enables compliance with environmental legislation. In addition to the environmental benefits attained from burning gas, the choice of fuel can now be made on the basis of price and availability since Wärtsilä's dual-fuel (DF) technology allows engines to use either natural gas or diesel oil," Wärtsilä added.

In particular, this technology is attracting the attention of global fleet owners operating within the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA), for which the regulations came into force in August 2012. The legislation is aimed at achieving stricter control on emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter from vessels. ECA's have also been established in the Baltic Sea and North Sea.

Lars Anderson, Vice President, 4-stroke at Wärtsilä Ship Power, commented: "The Wärtsilä 20DF will further accelerate the adoption of LNG as a marine fuel in the US. The ability to meet EPA Tier 4 emissions requirements without the need for exhaust after-treatment, while at the same time increasing the safety and operational flexibility for LNG vessels, provides significant value to our customers."

The Wärtsilä 20DF is a commercial duty, medium-speed, dual-fuel engine. Engines supplied to the US market will operate primarily on natural gas, with marine diesel oil (MDO) as a pilot fuel or as an emergency backup fuel.

Wärtsilä dual-fuel main and auxiliary engines allow ships to operate on natural gas, which minimizes their environmental footprint and operational costs and also make it possible to operate without exhaust gas after-treatment.

The Wärtsilä 20DF power spans the range from 1,056kW (1,415HP) to 1,584kW (2,122HP) per engine. Wärtsilä's 4-stroke dual-fuel engine portfolio has the widest power range in the market. The Wärtsilä 20DF, Wärtsilä 34DF and Wärtsilä 50DF output ranges from 1056kW (1,415HP) to 17,550kW (23,515HP) per engine. Wärtsilä has delivered over 1,000 dual-fuel engines. This portfolio of engines currently has over 7 million operating hours.

Wärtsilä's lean burn, low pressure dual-fuel engine technology utilizes a very low percentage diesel fuel as a pilot ignition source, amounting to about 1 percent of total energy. This contrasts with other gas engine technologies that employ a significantly higher percentage of diesel pilot fuel. The Wärtsilä lean burn advantage results in lower operational costs and reduced emissions.