Wärtsilä makes Hurtigruten greener
Hurtigruten ASA has signed a contract with Wärtsilä for engine rebuilds that will reduce the NOx emissions from MS «Finnmarken», MS «Trollfjord» and MS «Midnatsol with 20 percent.
Every day, all year round, the Coastal Steam vessels MS «Finnmarken», MS «Trollfjord» and MS «Midnatsol» transport goods, passengers and tourists to 34 harbours along the Norwegian coast between Bergen and Kirkenes. Now the popular and well known ships will become more environmentally friendly as Hurtigruten ASA has signed a contract with Wärtsilä for environmental upgrades of in total six Wärtsilä 9L32 diesel engines on board the three ships. The engine rebuilds will reduce the emissions of environmental damaging nitrogen oxides (NOx) with 20 percent per engine so that the engines meet the latest regulations stated in the international IMO Tier II-standard for the shipping trade.
- Hurtigruten is a large and important customer for Wärtsilä and we are glad to see that the company is concerned about the environment. For Wärtsilä this new contract represents a large and comprehensive job. The contract confirms our position as the leading supplier of NOx rebuilds in Norway and is a recognition of our technology and competencies within this area says General Sales Manager in Wärtsilä Norway, Arne Mæland.
Wärtsilä’s field service personnel will carry out the rebuilds on the Hurtigruten engines in January 2013, January 2014 and January 2015.
- For Hurtigruten the nearness to nature and coastal culture is our most important selling point and we see it as important to safeguard the environment along the Norwegian coast. Through our membership in the Norwegian NOx-fund we are obliged to take measures to lower our emissions of NOx. Some work has already been done and with Wärtsilä’s engine upgrades on three vessels we will take another step within our environmental efforts. The environmental upgrades will give us a great reduction in our total emission of NOx, says Kurt Grundstad, Technical Manager in Hurtigruten ASA.
Technical milestone
Wärtsilä offers more than 50 solutions within energy efficiency- and environmental solutions for the marine industry. The company aims to be a total supplier and therefore works with both design and all other components that can make a ship more effective and environmentally friendly.
-Wärtsilä aims to contribute to the lowest possible emissions of greenhouse gasses and NOx. Around Norway our employees work daily to develop new technology that will contribute to making the shipping trade more environmentally friendly, says Mæland.
Within this work, environmental rebuilds of ship engines is an important business area and Wärtsilä's service unit in Norway has carried out NOx rebuilds on more than 170 engines since the company developed the technology in the mid-90s.
-The six Wärtsilä 32 engines represent a technical milestone for us. These engines are “only” nine years old and amongst the very first of the new generation of engines that we rebuild for lower NOx emissions. We will use components and technology from Wärtsilä’s newest and most environmentally friendly engine types and use these on the Wärtsilä 32-engines to increase the environmental standard, says Mæland.
Funded by the NOx-fund
Hurtigruten will have close to 80 percent of the cost of the engine rebuilds funded by the Norwegian trade industry’s NOx-fund, where members can apply for funds for emission reducing measures. Through the Norwegian Environmental Agreement on NOx 2011-2017 the fund aims to reduce the NOx-emission with 16.000 tons in addition to upholding the effect of the achieved emission reductions for the entire period.
- The support from the NOx-fund is an important contribution to the environmental measures Hurtigruten now carries out on MS Finnmarken, MS Trollfjord og MS Midnatsol. As ship owners we believe that the arrangement with the NOx-fund has worked very well. The fund contributes to increased focus on environmental measures in the shipping industry and makes it easier for ship owners to take environmental actions, says Kurt Grundstad in Hurtigruten.
General Manager in the NOx-fund, Geir Høibye, says that Wärtsilä has been an important contributor to the NOX reductions that has been achieved in the Norwegian shipping trade.
- Wärtsilä has been one of the most important suppliers of such environmental measures. The company was one of the first to offer the necessary technology and has carried out many rebuilds. In the Environmental Agreement 2011-2017 emphasis is put on permanent reduction measures, and engine rebuilds and transition to LNG operations are the primary measures to achieve this, says Høibye.
Media contacts
Arne Mæland
General Manager Sales, Wärtsilä Norway
Tel.: +47 907 38 264
arne.meland@wartsila.com
Marie Engelsen Launes
Communication & Culture Manager, Wärtsilä Norway
Tel.: +47 976 53 966
Marie.Launes@wartsila.com
Ragnar Norum
Communication Manager, Hurtigruten
Tlf: 957 65 604
Ragnar.Norum@hurtigruten.com
Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2011, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled EUR 4.2 billion with approximately 18,000 employees. The company has operations in nearly 170 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.
www.wartsila.com
Hurtigruten in brief
Hurtigruten ASA is the orignial Norwegian coastal route since 1893. The company transports gods, passangers and tourist to 34 harbours along the unique Norwegian coast between Bergen and Kirkenes – every day, all year round. Hurtigruten’s explorer ship MS Fram sails in the Antartic, on Spitzbergen and by Greenland.
www.hurtigruten.no
Facts: NOx-rebuilds
The Nox-rebuilds Wärtsilä will carry out on the three Coastal Steam vessels are engine technical rebuilds where Wärtsilä makes modifications on the combustion system, pistons and the turbo chargers in the engines. These modifications lowers the combustion time and the exhaust temperature so that the engines get a more optimal combustion process. On the Coastal Steam ships this optimization will result in a reduction of NOx in the exhaust by 20 percent.
Capture: MS Finnmarken