The ships were designed to be equipped with twelve MAN 9-cylinder V-configuration double acting two-stroke diesel engines that were designed to provide a total of 165,000 shaft horsepower at 250 rpm. The engines were arranged in four sets of three, each of which drove one of four shafts. The shafts each turned a screw that was 4.3 m in diameter. The ships were designed to carry of fuel oil, but were capable of storing up to . At a cruising speed of 13 knots, this enabled a maximum range of 25,000 nautical miles; at 19 knots, the range was reduced to 15,000 nmi.