Low operating costs and increased payload capacity will be gained by the choice of Wärtsilä main and auxiliary engines for a new high-speed RoPax ferry between Helsinki, Finland, and Tallinn, Estonia.
Wärtsilä Corporation has been awarded a contract in March 2006 to deliver the power plant for the new ferry contracted by the Mariehamn, Finland, based shipping company Viking Line Abp at the Helsinki shipyard of Aker Yards. The ferry will be delivered in January 2008.
For this ferry, Wärtsilä will deliver four eight-cylinder Wärtsilä 46F main engines, each of 10,000 kW output at 600 rpm, and three 8-cylinder in-line Wärtsilä Auxpac 20 generating sets, each of 1350 kWe output.
The 2500-passenger ferry will have dimensions of 185 m length overall, 170 m length between perpendiculars, 27.70 m breadth and 6.55 m design draught. It will be built to Ice Class 1A Super for year-round navigation in the Baltic, and will have a service speed of 25 knots. The ferry is intended to provide fast comfortable trips with modern range of dining and shopping facilities for passengers, and to meet the increased need for transport capacity, especially for passenger vehicles.
The Wärtsilä 46F engine features a high power concentration, enabling 40,000 kW to be delivered by four engines with a minimum number of cylinders while giving substantial benefits in minimum engine height and breadth. The low weight of these engines will enable the ferries to have an increased payload capacity compared with alternative engines. The engines will be equipped with catalysts to minimise NOx emissions in the exhaust gases.
The main criterion for selection of the Wärtsilä 46F for the main engines, however, is that the engines’ fuel consumption can be optimized for the complex operating profile with frequent variations in engine power during the crossings between the ports of Helsinki and Tallinn. The fuel consumption of the engines will be optimised for both their constant -speed operation while entering and leaving ports, and their variable-speed operation during the passages across the Gulf of Finland.
Media contact:
Marit Holmlund-Sund
Public Relations Manager
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
