For the year 2000, Wärtsilä Corporation reports that 24 Sulzer RTA84T low-speed diesel engines with an aggregate power output of 713.4 MW (970,800 bhp) have been ordered for installation in very large tankers contracted at shipyards in China, Japan and South Korea. Licensees of Wärtsilä in Japan and Korea will build all the engines. Altogether there are now 78 Sulzer RTA84T engines delivered or on order, with a combined output of 2171.9 MW (2.95 million bhp).

The Sulzer RTA84T low-speed two-stroke diesel engine is specifically tailored for the propulsion needs of large tankers. It runs at low speeds (54 - 76 rev/min) to match the optimum propeller speeds of such large ships. As part-load fuel economy is important in ships which might have long periods of `slow-steaming', the RTA84T uses flexible engine setting through variable exhaust valve closing (VEC), load-dependent cylinder liner cooling, and variable fuel injection timing (VIT).
These features contribute to the RTA84T being the most economical propulsion engine today for large tankers. It is manufactured in two versions, the RTA84T-B and the RTA84T-D with a higher power output. Available with five to nine cylinders, the RTA84T covers a power range of 19,400 to 36,900 kW (26,400 to 50,220 bhp) at maximum continuous output.