Two LNG vessels, the ‘La Mancha Knutsen’ and the ‘Rioja Knutsen’, owned by Knutsen OAS Shipping have been successfully fitted with Wärtsilä LV shaft generator systems with step-up transformers. The commissioning and sea trials went without hitch in 2016. The Wärtsilä systems effectively reduce the auxiliary engines’ running hours by approximately 50 percent, meaning the time between overhauls can be extended from five years to ten. Maintenance costs and lube oil consumption are also notably reduced, and the overall efficiency of the vessels is increased.
The Wärtsilä shaft generators have been working very well on both vessels. When running with the shaft generators, the running hours for the auxiliary engines are reduced by up to 50% Our vessels have fixed pitch propellers, and the reduction would have been far higher on vessels with controllable pitch propellers. We will achieve far more total running hours with the shaft generator feeding the main switchboard.
We greatly appreciate the support of the Wärtsilä engineers during the KNUTSEN LNG project. The detailed feedback and prompt action for each stage provided by Wärtsilä during the construction will now allow us to successfully deliver the vessels to the ship owner. We look forward to working with Wärtsilä-SAM again in the future on similar challenging projects. Thank you so much for your close cooperation.
