MHI Completes First "UEC45LSE," 450 mm Bore 2-stroke Marine Diesel

Manufacture of the first UEC45LSE engine has been completed by Akasaka Diesels Limited at its Toyoda Factory in Shizuoka Prefecture, a licensee of MHI's UE marine diesel engines.

In developing the UEC-LSE engines, MHI has focused on further enhancing the reliability of its existing UE engines in order to achieve higher economy and environmental responsiveness while also responding precisely to trends in the maritime market. The company has fully applied its proprietary high-precision analysis tools - in-cylinder combustion, simulations, main bearing analysis, etc. - and 3-dimensional CAD (computer-aided design).

During the UEC45LSE's development, MHI liaised closely with shipbuilding companies - including Shin Kurushima Dockyard Co., Ltd., The Hakodate Dock Co., Ltd., Kanda Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., and Onomichi Dockyard Co., Ltd. - and its UE licensees in Japan: Akasaka Diesels and Kobe Diesel Co., Ltd. As a result, the UEC45LSE engine has attracted significant attention within the industry, and even before shipment of the first engine, the order book (number of works in progress) is already approaching 100 units, giving MHI a higher than 90% share of the market for main engines for new 30,000 gross tonnage class bulk carriers in Japan.

UE engines are widely used by shipowners in Japan and abroad, including major overseas owners and in 2007 their cumulative power output surpassed 30 million horsepower. UE engines have also been supplied to many shipyards in Japan and Europe, and also in emerging shipbuilding countries such as China, Vietnam and Turkey. The series has won high acclaim from both shipowners and shipbuilders alike.

In 2005 MHI provided UE engine technology to new licensees in China and Vietnam as a measure to respond to the globalization of the shipbuilding market. On the occasion of the introduction of the new UEC45LSE, MHI now will further strengthen its aggressive marketing activities for the series.