During the past year, Wärtsilä has received orders to supply over 60 of its transverse thrusters for 12 new cruise ships being built in four shipyards on behalf of six different owners.
This represents the dominant share of newbuilding vessels within the cruise sector during this period. The efficiency and performance of Wärtsilä’s transverse thrusters is particularly important for large cruise ships, since manoeuvring and mooring in often crowded harbours is mission critical, the company explained.
Wärtsilä’s series of transverse thrusters represents the latest generation in thruster technology, combining a compact design with high thrust performance and low levels of noise and vibration. Following a quality audit held at Wärtsilä’s production facilities in Wuxi, China, a major cruise shipbuilder indicated that it was one of the most successful audits they had ever held, and that the factory’s quality system was among the best they had experienced.
“The past year’s sales result for our thrusters speaks for itself. Given the many benefits they offer, including outstanding reliability, easy maintenance, and excellent performance, it is no surprise that the world’s major cruise operators are opting for Wärtsilä transverse thrusters. This success in the demanding cruise sector is equally relevant to other vessel types as well,” said Lauri Tiainen, Director Thrusters, Wärtsilä Marine Business.
The latest generation Wärtsilä WTT series of thrusters covers variants up to a maximum power rating of 5,500 kW. The hydrodynamic performance of each thruster unit is optimised based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses. Furthermore, the WTT series is full prepared for use with environmentally acceptable lubricants (EAL), and complies with the latest environmental requirements.
