Wärtsilä has received a repeat order for a Wärtsilä 64 engine from Hamburg-based shipyard J.J. Sietas KG Schiffswerft GmbH & Co. The engine will be installed in a new multipurpose containership being built for the German owner Reederei H.P. Wegener. The engine will be delivered in September 2005 and the vessel is scheduled for delivery in March 2006. Wegener has a current fleet of four containerships which are operated by the Finnish charterers in the Baltic and North Sea. The Wärtsilä 64 is the largest engine type in Wärtsilä’s series of medium-speed engines.
The ship’s service speed is 20.5 knots. The length between perpendiculars is 144.30 m, the width is 21.75 m, and design draught is 8.35m and the maximum draught is 8.94m. The ship will have a deadweight of 13,400 dwt and a container component capacity for 45 feet container transport. The ship can also carry bulk cargo in all cargo holds. The ship is built to ice class E3 with unmanned machinery space and classed by Germanischer Lloyd. It will be registered under German flag.
Low lifetime costs
One important factor in the choice of Wärtsilä again was the company’s success in enhancing the Wärtsilä 64 engine’s output while reducing the number of cylinders from seven to six. This will benefit the customer through lower lifetime costs and minimum space needed for machinery.
The machinery consists of a single 6-cylinder in-line Wärtsilä 64 engine with an output of 12,900 kW at 333 rpm, a controllable pitch propeller, shaft generator and two high-speed diesel generators. A bow thruster together with the dynamic properties of the selected propulsion machinery will give the ship good manoeuvrability.
The Wärtsilä 64 is elastically mounted, which is appreciated by designers of containerships with a high and narrow superstructure. This results in low structure-borne noise in the accommodation and low vibration levels in the deckhouse. Elastically mounted engines also introduce an added measure of safety in cases where main engine excited hull vibrations may lead to fatigue failures in the ship’s hull.
The lubricating oil and cooling water pumps, oil cooler and filter are built on the engine, which is a particular advantage on this type of ship with a maximum cargo capacity and minimum of machinery space.
Waste heat is recovered from the exhaust gases to the thermal oil system. The relatively high exhaust gas temperatures of the Wärtsilä 64 engine help reduce the installation costs of the exhaust gas economizer. This special feature is enhanced by an innovative solution for cooling the exhaust valves, which also offers increased reliability.
Large and fast cargo ships can benefit from the advantages of a single medium-speed main engine, controllable pitch propeller and shaft generator - a concept that over the years has become increasingly popular on small and medium-sized cargo ships. The reasons for this popularity are increased cargo hold capacity due to compact dimensions, manoeuvrability of the ship due to good dynamic performance of the medium-speed engine, and efficient production of shipboard electricity at sea and during manoeuvring in port.
The engine is easy to install, requiring fewer auxiliary systems:
• With built-on pumps the number of components that have to be installed by the shipyard is reduced, and the lower demand for electric power also reduces investment and operating costs
• Certain systems are not required, like a separate cylinder lubricating oil system, fuel nozzle cooling water system, stuffing box drain cleaning system, separate camshaft lube oil system, and cross-head lubricating pumps
• A smaller starting air system (receivers, compressors, piping) when no restarting of the engine is required for reversing
• A smaller lubricating oil storage tank because of the low lubricating oil consumption made possible by the anti-polishing ring. Obviously this feature clearly reduces the running costs.
A new innovation in the Wärtsilä 64 design is the twin-plunger concept of the injection pump, where one plunger helix sets the start of injection and the other plunger helix meters the amount of injected fuel. This system enables better tuning of the NOx level at different loads and fuel qualities. The system also contributes to an outstandingly low fuel consumption and smokeless operation at medium and high engine load.
Media contact:
Marit Holmlund-Sund
Public Relations Manager, Ship Power
Wärtsilä Corporation
Direct tel: +358 10 709 1439
Direct fax: +358 10 709 1425
e-mail: marit.holmlund-sund@wartsila.com
Internet: www.wartsila.com
