WinGD has signed its first manufacturing licence with HD Hyundai Marine Engine, extending the production routes available for its two-stroke marine engine designs in South Korea. The agreement covers mid-bore engines intended for bulk carriers, tankers and other vessels, and adds another manufacturer able to supply WinGD diesel and dual-fuel technologies. The Swiss designer already has a long-standing manufacturing licence with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, whose engine production serves larger ships including major container vessels and liquefied natural gas carriers.
HD Hyundai Marine Engine operated previously as STX Heavy Industries and joined the HD Hyundai group following its acquisition by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering in 2024. The business has experience in small and medium-sized two-stroke engines, complementing the larger engine production at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, which already manufactures WinGD designs. The new licence establishes an additional production route for mid-bore engines used on bulk carriers and tankers, with volumes dependent on future shipyard and shipowner orders.
The licence covers WinGD’s X52 and X62 families, whose names identify cylinder bores of 52cm and 62cm. These low-speed two-stroke engines are intended to drive ships’ propellers in vessel designs where their power, operating speed and installed dimensions fit the hull and machinery space. Bulk carriers and tankers are prominent applications, but the range is also suitable for other segments, including pure car and truck carriers. Selecting an engine involves matching propulsion needs to the vessel’s operating profile, rather than using bore size alone as a measure of suitability.
WinGD offers the families in conventional diesel designs and X-DF dual-fuel variants, with fuel-specific configurations for liquefied natural gas, ammonia, liquefied petroleum gas, methanol or ethanol. Each fuel route brings different storage, delivery and safety requirements to the ship. The wording of the new licence establishes access to WinGD’s engine technologies; the precise fuel configuration for an individual newbuild will depend on the engine model ordered and the vessel’s fuel-system design.
Under the agreement, WinGD and HD Hyundai Marine Engine intend to share technical and manufacturing experience to improve costs and the integration of mid-bore engines into vessel designs. Engine choice affects foundations, shaft alignment, maintenance access, exhaust arrangements, fuel handling and auxiliary connections in the machinery space. Standard design information helps shipyards coordinate those interfaces, while inspection and factory acceptance testing are required to confirm that completed machinery meets the specified engine and installation requirements.
WinGD’s recent mid-bore development includes its X-S short-stroke platform, offered in 52cm and 62cm versions. Shortening the piston stroke can reduce engine height and enable a more compact machinery arrangement for certain vessel designs. The company says this generation provides similar power with improved efficiency and serviceability compared with its conventional mid-bore designs, making it suitable where deck height or draft limits restrict the available installation space. The engineering trade-offs still depend on the selected engine rating and vessel requirements.
The choice between diesel and dual-fuel propulsion has become a design decision extending through the lifetime of a vessel. Engines capable of operating on another fuel can provide an additional pathway as fuel supply, regulation and operating costs change, but the machinery plant must include the right supply and handling systems for the actual fuel selected. WinGD also offers single-fuel X-Engine versions designed with future conversion in mind. Conversion readiness should be assessed against the particular configuration and any work required to install compatible fuel equipment later.
The licence adds HD Hyundai Marine Engine to the builders authorised to manufacture the specified WinGD designs. Production under licence requires consistent components, assembly procedures, inspection and testing so that engines supplied from different factories meet common technical requirements. South Korean shipyards can draw on the new route when matching engine type and available manufacturing capacity to a vessel contract, while WinGD retains its established relationship with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for large-engine applications.
Peter Krähenbühl, vice-president of WinGD’s Product Centre, has linked the agreement to greater availability of mid-bore engines and improved integration in high-volume ship segments. HD Hyundai Marine Engine senior vice-president YoungJe Woo has also connected the licence to a wider engine choice for customers. The existing partnership with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries remains separate and continues to address engines for larger vessels; the new arrangement broadens the manufacturing base rather than replacing that established channel.
Manufacturing preparations under the new agreement will determine when individual engines can be supplied to shipbuilding projects. The X52 and X62 families already cover diesel and alternative-fuel variants, and the X-S short-stroke designs give yards a further machinery-space option. Actual engine output, fuel configuration and installation schedules will follow customers’ selections and the associated vessel designs, making the licence an expansion of available manufacturing capability rather than a booked production volume.
