Wärtsilä engine cylinder lubricating system retrofits for 21 vessels will cut lubricating oil consumption and engine operating costs.
Wärtsilä won an order in November 2007 from the German shipowner Reederei Claus-Peter Offen for retrofitting 21 ships with the Retrofit Pulse Lubricating System. The new cylinder lubricating system, which will save costs, will be fitted to all Wärtsilä RTA96C engines in the owner’s fleet of container ships.
The benefit of the new cylinder lubrication system can be readily recognised.
“In 2006, engine lubricants increased in price by roughly 30 per cent, the largest proportional growth of any one factor in operating costs of our vessels. With its precise timing and accurate metering of cylinder oil considerable cost savings will be achieved,” says Lothar Knöchelmann, Technical Director, of Reederei Claus-Peter Offen.
Shipowners have shown considerable interest for retrofitting the electronically-controlled Retrofit Pulse Lubricating System (RPLS) to RTA and RT-flex low-speed marine diesel engines. Orders have already been received for 103 complete engine installations, amounting to 1048 cylinders. The first retrofit was completed in September 2006, while today 36 engines are in service with RPLS.
Less oil consumption
The new cylinder lubrication solution trumps traditional systems by its electronically-controlled feeding of cylinder oil. Compared to accumulator systems the RPLS can help achieve typical yearly savings of more than USD 200,000 for a 12-cylinder RTA96C engine running at 85% load for 7000 hours a year with cylinder oil costing USD 1700/tonne.
The Pulse Lubricating System delivers reduced cylinder oil consumption without compromising piston-running reliability. This is made possible through an improved distribution of cylinder lubricating oil to the cylinder liner, and the fully flexible, precise timing of oil delivery.
The guide feed rate for RTA and RT-flex engines retrofitted with the Pulse Lubricating System is 0.8 g/kWh of cylinder lubricating oil.
The Pulse Lubricating System is available now for retrofitting to RT-flex96C, RTA96C, RT-flex84T, RTA84T and RTA84C engines. Additional engine types will be added to these in 2008.
The first systems installed in 2006
The first ever RPLS was installed in the container ship “Cosco Shenzhen” during autumn 2006. The vessel is owned and chartered by shipping company E.R. Schiffahrt GmbH & Cie KG. The RPLS was fitted while the ship sailed from Hong Kong to San Francisco via China.
“The RPLS solution has delivered all the benefits promised,” says Claus Tantzen, Head of Fleet Management department at E.R. Schiffahrt. “In addition to cost-savings we’re on the lookout for operational reliability. The system is being fitted to all nine RTA96C engines in our fleet.”
Shipowners can obtain further information on retrofitting the Pulse Lubricating System at rpls@wartsila.com.
Related material:
Press Release - 25.9.2006: Cost savings with new Wärtsilä cylinder lubricating system
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
Notes to the editor:
Wärtsilä Corporation
Wärtsilä enhances the business of its customers by providing them with complete lifecycle power solutions. When creating better and environmentally compatible technologies, Wärtsilä focuses on the marine and energy markets with products and solutions as well as services. Through innovative products and services, Wärtsilä sets out to be the most valued business partner of all its customers. This is achieved by the dedication of more than 15,000 professionals manning 150 Wärtsilä locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on The Nordic Exchange in Helsinki, Finland.
Reederei Claus-Peter Offen
The ship operator Claus-Peter Offen (founded in 1971) is based in Hamburg, and is one of the world’s largest suppliers of modern container ship tonnage. It has some 120 vessels in service or currently under construction with a capacity of some 700,000 TEU; most of them are chartered under long-term contract to leading shipping lines. They are employed in worldwide service. The company currently has a workforce of approximately 3000 people on shore and at sea.
E.R. Schiffahrt
The shipping company E.R. Schiffahrt GmbH & Cie KG was founded in 1998 and is responsible for project development and commercial and technical management of shipping funds. At present, it has 76 container ships in operation and under construction with a capacity of some 350,000 TEU. Thus, this Nordcapital subsidiary is one of the world’s largest charter shipping companies for container ships.
www.er-ship.com
