FINNISH technology manufacturer Wärtsilä has announced it will supply three of its dual-fuel engines for an LNG Bunkering vessel being built for Spanish operator Ibaizabal.

The 25DF dual-fuel engines will feature Wärtsilä’s NextDF technology, which it says dramatically reduces methane emissions when operating with LNG fuel.

The ship is being built at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding yard in China, and the order was placed by Wärtsilä in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The company says the engine has already set an industry benchmark for low methane emissions, down to as low as 1.4 percent at certain load points.

“The incorporation of our NextDF feature into the Wärtsilä 25DF engine provides enhanced fuel economy together with a significant cut in emissions,” said Stefan Nysjö, vice president of power supply, Wärtsilä Marine.

“We share Ibaizabal’s commitment to decarbonising shipping operations and applaud them for being the first operator to take advantage of this new groundbreaking technology for the Wärtsilä 25DF engine”.

Jose Maria Torre, fleet director of Ibaizabal Group commented, “Our company strategy and commitment is for our vessels to be as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible”.

“In line with current and anticipated regulations – both at an international and regional level – we carefully evaluated the fuel consumption and emission performance together with Wärtsilä, concluding that the Wärtsilä 25DF engine with the NextDF feature would best support us with achieving our sustainability goals.

“Wärtsilä’s state-of-art technology not only represents a major step forward in achieving our own decarbonisation strategy for our fleet, but for the charterer of the vessel. The decision by them to charter this vessel was down to it having the best performance and lowest emissions for that type of vessel.”

The scope of supply also includes two Wärtsilä Steerable Thrusters (WST) which the company says will deliver superior hydrodynamic performance for maximum propulsion efficiency and dynamic positioning capability.

The equipment is scheduled for fast-track delivery to the yard, commencing in September 2025. The ship is expected to be delivered before the end of 2026.

The news comes as Wärtsilä announced it has conducted a world-first clean energy trial with Brazilian energy company Energetica Suape II S.A, which will see ethanol, a biofuel mainly produced from sugarcane, used to generate clean power.

Taking place at the Suape II power station in Recife, Brazil, the trial will test the world’s-first ethanol-fuelled engine for large-scale electricity generation.

Brazil is the largest producer and user of ethanol from sugarcane and Wärtsilä says the partnership aims to demonstrate the significant potential for this local fuel as a clean power source to customers, authorities, and policymakers.