The world’s largest reciprocating diesel engine is manufactured by Wärtsilä Corporation, a Finland-based company, and it is specifically designed to power colossal cargo ships.

With a height of almost 43 feet and a length of 85 feet, the RT-flex96C is a 14-cylinder giant that weighs a staggering 2,300 tons. The crankshaft on its own weighs 300 tons, and each piston, towering at nearly 20 feet, weighs over five tons. To put its immense size into perspective, the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles stands at 45 feet tall, while the typical blue whale measures 80 to 90 feet in length. Interestingly, even 13 blue whales combined weigh less than this engine, at about 2,000 tons.

The RT-flex96C has a displacement of nearly 25,500 liters, which is equivalent to approximately 3,187 Bugatti Chiron engines. It generates an impressive 108,920 horsepower at 102 revolutions per minute (rpm) and produces a massive torque of 5.6 million pound-feet. This engine consumes 250 tons of fuel per day and utilizes over 39 barrels of oil per hour. Its cost per minute is $34, but this can vary based on the daily price of oil.

Ships powered by the RT-flex96C engine can transport 11,000 20-foot long shipping containers at a speedy pace of 25 to 31 knots, whereas most cargo ships typically cruise at around 20 knots. As a result, these ships can reach destinations such as China from the United States four days faster. As of April 2023, there were only 25 RT-flex96C engines in existence, and an additional 86 engines were under construction by Wärtsilä.