Wärtsilä to Provide Hybrid Scrubbers to Six Feeder Vessel Newbuilds

Wärtsilä will supply a six new container feeder vessels with hybrid scrubbers for 2020 compliance. Image Credit: Wärtsilä

Wärtsilä Corporation (Wärtsilä) today announced that it is set to supply a range of products and solutions for six new "state-of-the-art" 1,160 TEU container feeder vessels, including hybrid exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers) for compliance with tightening sulfur regulations on bunkers in 2020.

The vessels in the order - which includes the option for six further ships - are being built at the Fujian Mawei shipyard in China under a project developed by Germany-based MarLink Project Management GmbH (MarLink Project Management) and various investors.

Wärtsilä says the full package that each vessel will receive comprises of a main propulsion unit featuring a controllable pitch (CPP) propeller plant, including the shafting arrangement with a step up tunnel gear, the manoeuvring unit comprising a bow tunnel thruster with the electrical motor and variable frequency drive (VFD), a custom designed shaft generator system, a hybrid exhaust gas cleaning system, ballast water management systems, a sewage treatment plant and the ship automation.

"This comprehensive delivery of propulsion and environmental systems once again emphasises the extent of Wärtsilä’s offering and the range of our in-house competences," said Matthias Becker, General Manager of Sales at Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.

"The fact that this remarkable series of vessels will feature Wärtsilä propulsion, environmental, and electrical and automation solutions is a clear endorsement of the added value our broad offering represents. We have worked closely with both the shipyard and MarLink from the early stages of this project to ensure the lowest possible operational costs and the most sustainable environmental solutions."

The equipment is scheduled for delivery to the yard from Wärtsilä beginning in the second half of 2017, with the first vessel is expected to be delivered in 2018.

"These are modern vessels for which environmental sustainability is extremely important. We believe the Wärtsilä solutions will enable the ships to operate cleanly and with a minimal impact on the environment yet combined with economically outstanding operating parameters," said Mathias Pahl, Managing Director at MarLink Project Management.

From 2020 the sulfur content of marine fuel will be capped at 0.50%, unless an equivalent method of compliance such as a scrubber is used.