A secondary diesel engine on board a vessel used primarily to drive electrical generators that supply power for the ship's hotel load, cargo-handling equipment, navigation systems, and other onboard services. Most vessels carry multiple auxiliary engines for redundancy and load management.
Category: Marine Engineering
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Ballast Water TreatmentSystems installed on vessels to treat ballast water before it is discharged overboard, removing or neutralising harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens.Bow ThrusterA transverse propulsion device installed in a tunnel through the bow of a vessel, used to improve manoeuvrability at low speeds during berthing and unberthing operations.CIICarbon Intensity Indicator, an operational measure introduced by the IMO that rates a ship's annual carbon emissions relative to the cargo carried and distance sailed.Dual FuelAn engine technology that allows a marine engine to operate on two different types of fuel, typically LNG and conventional marine diesel or heavy fuel oil.EEXIEnergy Efficiency Existing Ship Index, a measure introduced by the IMO to reduce the carbon intensity of existing ships by requiring them to meet a minimum energy efficiency standard.Four-Stroke EngineA type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle in four strokes of the piston (two revolutions of the crankshaft).
Back to DictionaryEntry updated May 2026