Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply the engines and exhaust gas cleaning systems for a new
104 m long exploration cruise vessel.
The ship is being built at the China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) shipyard in China for Sunstone Ships of Miami, Fla. There are options for an additional nine vessels.
Wärtsilä signed the contract with Ulstein Design and Solutions of Norway, which is responsible for delivering the design and equipment package to the yard. The order was booked in June, 2017.
The full Wärtsilä package comprises two 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 20 engines fitted with the Wärtsilä
NOR (NOx Reducer) exhaust gas cleaning system, and two 8-cylinder Wärtsilä 20 engines.
The Wärtsilä NOR is based on Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology. The system is compliant with various NOx (Nitrogen Oxides) emission reduction needs, such as the IMO Tier III rules.
“We are delighted to be co-operating with the Ulstein company in this newbuild project.
The Wärtsilä 20 engine is a very good product fit for this vessel, while the NOR system is optimised and validated for all our medium speed engines in terms of reliability, flexibility and size,” said Cato Esperø, Sales Director, Wärtsilä Norway.
“Reliability and performance are important criteria for cruise vessels since they are mostly operating to strict schedules. At the same time, environmental sustainability is today an essential element in the cruise sector. Wärtsilä’s reputation speaks for itself in all these areas,” said Ove Dimmen, Ulstein Design & Solution sales manager.
Wärtsilä’s equipment will be delivered to the yard in January, 2018, and the ship is expected to begin operations in September, 2019.
Earlier, Wärtsilä had announced that it will supply the engines, navigation system, and other products,
plus systems for a new luxury ferry being built for the Finland based operator, Viking Line.
The ship, plus an option, is being built at the Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry yard in China.
Six Wärtsilä 31DF dual-fuel engines running primarily on LNG will be installed. This will be the first marine application for the dual-fuel version.
Wärtsilä will also supply its LNGPac fuel storage and supply system, a Compact Silencer System (CSS), bow thrusters, the ballast water management system (BWMS) and a Nacos Platinum INS.
The recently launched Wärtsilä SmartPredict system is also included in package.
This solution is designed to provide ships with greater safety and more efficient operations by displaying the the vessel’s predicted future position and heading. It evaluates the wind and sea forces to provide
advanced motion prediction and has a configurable prediction time display.
“A new era in ferry operations was established in 2013 when Viking Line’s ‘Viking Grace’ with Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines became the world’s largest RoPax ferry to operate on LNG fuel.
This latest Viking project represents another milestone as it will be the first vessel fitted with the highly efficient Wärtsilä 31DF engines. Both cases highlight the value our knowhow and technology brings to
our customers,” said Roger Holm, President, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.
