Wärtsilä Corporation reports that many of the new Sulzer RT-flex common-rail marine engines are being installed in ships built in the People’s Republic of China, and manufacture of these engines has already begun there under licence.
Of the 110 Sulzer RT-flex engines confirmed to be on order and in service world-wide, 36 are for ships built in China PRC. These comprise seven Sulzer RT-flex84T-D engines for VLCCs, 12 Sulzer RT-flex60C engines for container ships and multi-purpose cargo carriers, 12 Sulzer RT-flex58T-B engines for product tankers and five Sulzer RT-flex50 engines for bulk carriers.
The first Chinese-built ship powered by a Sulzer RT-flex engine entered service in November 2003 in the 30,000 tdw multi-purpose container carrier “Wladyslaw Orkan” which was built at Shanghai Shipyard. The Sulzer 7RT-flex60C engines for this vessel and her three sister vessels were manufactured in Korea.
The first Chinese-built Sulzer RT-flex engine successfully completed its official shop test on 24 May 2004 at Yichang Marine Diesel Engine Plant in Yichang. It is a five-cylinder Sulzer RTA58T-B engine and will be installed in the first of two 46,500 tdw product tankers contracted at Jiangdu Yuehai Shipbuilding Co Ltd in China by International Andromeda Shipping SAM of Monaco. Each Sulzer 5RT-flex58T-B main engine has a power output of 10,625 kW at 105 rpm.
This engine was thoroughly tested over a period of several days culminating in the official shop test, with the test programme covering all aspects of the engine’s performance and operation. Throughout the engine ran most satisfactorily. No difficulties were experienced during any of the tests.
The most recent RT-flex engine order in China is for a Sulzer 6RT-flex50 engine to be installed in a 19,625 tdw geared bulk carrier being built at Shanghai Edward Shipbuilding Co Ltd. The ship, being built to Finnish ice class 1A Super, has been contracted by the Swedish owner Rederi AB Donsötank with the Finnish company ESL Shipping Oy, part owner. The 9720 kW main engine will be manufactured in Japan by Diesel United Ltd. The Sulzer RT-flex engine was chosen for its smokeless operation which is important in the Baltic where the ship will trade, and for its operational flexibility which is foreseen to offer economic benefits.
In addition to the Sulzer 6RT-flex50 main engine, Wärtsilä will also deliver for this ship a Lips CP propeller, a PTO tunnel gear with shaft alternator, the control system for the whole plant, and three Wärtsilä 4L20 diesel generating sets. This is an example of Wärtsilä being the Ship Power Supplier, tailoring the package to match the requirements of the ship, shipowner and shipbuilder.
Developed by Wärtsilä Corporation, Sulzer RT-flex engines are the most advanced large marine engines available for ship propulsion today. They are the first low-speed diesel engines to have electronically-controlled common-rail systems for fuel injection and valve actuation. This gives unrivalled flexibility in the way the engines operate, to deliver benefits such as smokeless operation (as mentioned above) at all operating speeds, lower fuel consumption, reduced maintenance costs and lower steady operating speeds for better manoeuvring.
Marit Holmlund-Sund
Public Relations Manager, Ship Power
Wärtsilä Corporation
Direct tel: +358 10 709 1941
Direct fax: +358 10 709 1942
e-mail: marit.holmlund-sund@wartsila.com
Internet: www.wartsila.com
