What weighs 2,300 tons and has the ability to move 11,000 twenty-foot shipping containers? It’s the world’s largest diesel engine, which powers the Danish-built Emma Mærsk container ship.
The 14-cylinder, 2-stroke Wärtsilä-Sulzer 14RTFLEX96-C engine cranks out a staggering 109,000 horsepower. It helps the massive Emma Mærsk travel at a speed of 31 knots as it crosses the China-to-California route across the Pacific Ocean.
When the Emma Mærsk was first launched in 2006, it was largest container ship ever built. Naturally, a ship that’s 1,300 feet long and weighs 170,974 tons needs a serious power plant so they fitted it with the largest single diesel unit available. Although its diesel engine produces plenty of power, it comes at a cost — it burns 1,660 gallons heavy fuel oil per hour.
There are just 25 of these engines currently in use, but more are on the way, powering the next-generation of gargantuan cargo ships.
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