Products & services

Wärtsilä Linesafe for propeller shafts revolutionises bearing design

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 07 December 2017 07 December 2017

The new Wärtsilä Linesafe brings significant improvements to the performance of intermediate shaft bearing solutions. The innovative bearing has a simplified design, which enhances flexibility and lowers lifecycle costs. The design builds on the core competencies from Wärtsilä's existing line shaft bearing solutions, long standing experience on plain bearing design and thorough understanding of the present and future customer needs of marine and oil & gas operators.

The technology group Wärtsilä launches Wärtsilä Linesafe at the Marintec China event in Shanghai in December 2017, and adds the solution to its comprehensive seals & bearings product portfolio. The simplified design of Wärtsilä Linesafe enables short lead times as well as fast spare part delivery and service response. In addition, the updated bearing design offers enhanced flexibility within the standard design, which can allow customers to select different product configurations based on their needs.

"The new Wärtsilä Linesafe is revolutionary. It's a major step forward in bearing design," says Laura Lois, Product Manager, Wärtsilä Seals & Bearings. "The Wärtsilä Linesafe is designed to address the needs of marine and offshore owners and operators. The bearing design addresses market requirements such as increased radial load capacity, allowable shaft slope as well as a reduced amount of oil necessary for operation. The modular design enables the Wärtsilä Linesafe bearing to be tailored for use in various operating environments, and in customer-specific applications."

Further operational improvements of the Wärtsilä Linesafe standard design include readiness to connect a pump when forced lubrication is required, water cooling availability, interchangeable upper and lower bearing shells, and self-aligning design. In addition, the system can be equipped with a 'safe return to port' functionality when in flooded conditions.

Simplified design with improved functionality

Wärtsilä Linesafe is a hydrodynamic bearing with a modular housing made of high quality cast iron. Its self-lubrication is enabled by a cast aluminium oil ring and oil scraper. The innovative new bearing design incorporates vast advantages offered by Wärtsilä's prior intermediate shaft bearing solutions. For instance, Wärtsilä Linesafe is fully split with the benefit of being easily replaceable and serviceable. The self-alignment of Wärtsilä's intermediate shaft bearing solution offers simple alignment and installation as well as reduced wear, resulting in longer operational life, which can help customers achieve lower lifecycle costs.

"The new Wärtsilä Linesafe for propeller shafts is suited for all vessel types from Cruise to Navy. Wärtsilä Linesafe will replace all prior variations of Wärtsilä's intermediate shaft bearing solutions," says Matthew Bignell, Sales Development Manager, Seals & Bearings. "In addition to this innovative product development, Wärtsilä provides customers with worldwide field service support and technical expertise with its global network."

Wärtsilä to supply exhaust cleaning system for China built Sunstone expedition cruise ship

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 23 November 2017 23 November 2017

The Finnish technology group Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply the engines and exhaust gas cleaning systems for a 104 metre long exploration cruise vessel.

The ship is being built at the China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Co shipyard in China for Sunstone Ships Inc of Miami, USA. There are options for an additional nine vessels. The contract with Wärtsilä was placed by Ulstein Design and Solutions of Norway, the company responsible for delivering the design and equipment package to the yard. The order was booked in June 2017.

The full Wärtsilä scope of supply comprises two 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 20 engines fitted with the Wärtsilä NOR (NOx Reducer) exhaust gas cleaning system, and two 8-cylinder Wärtsilä 20 engines. The Wärtsilä NOR is based on SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) technology. The system is compliant with various NOx (Nitrogen Oxides) emission reduction needs, such as the IMO Tier III rules.

"We are delighted to be cooperating with the Ulstein company in this newbuild project. The Wärtsilä 20 engine is a very good product fit for this vessel, while the NOR system is optimised and validated for all our medium speed engines in terms of reliability, flexibility and size," says Cato Esperø, Sales Director, Wärtsilä Norway.

"Reliability and performance are important criteria for cruise vessels since they are mostly operating to strict schedules. At the same time, environmental sustainability is today an essential element in the cruise sector. Wärtsilä's reputation speaks for itself in all these areas," says Ove Dimmen, Sales manager, Ulstein Design & Solutions AS.

The Wärtsilä equipment will be delivered to the yard in January 2018, and the ship is expected to begin operations in September 2019.

NCLH enters in two-year service agreement with Scanship

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 01 December 2017 01 December 2017

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) has awarded Scanship a two-year service agreement, thereby confirming the continuation of a longtime co-operation for cleaner oceans. It has been 15 years since Scanship installed the first advanced water purification (AWP) systems on the group's ships.

“We are very pleased to reinforce the technical cooperation with Scanship as a testament to our longstanding partnership and our commitment to the Environment”, says Paolo Mele, SVP Technical Operations in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

Since 2002 Scanship has retrofitted eleven Norwegian Cruise Lines ships with advanced wastewater treatment systems. From 2004, six newbuilds has been equipped with Scanship’s total clean ships systems including garbage handling, foodwaste processing and bio residue treatment.

All these ships are in full compliance with the strict Alaska discharge requirements introduced in 2003. From 2010, the newbuilds in the Breakaway and Breakaway Plus class has been deployed with Scanship wastewater purification systems in compliance with the new IMO Marpol standard for special areas removing phosphorus and nitrogen.

The most recent AWP retrofit with Scanship technology was performed on Oceania Cruises' Sirena in 2016 meeting the same standard to be enforced in the Baltic Sea from 2019. In total, 17 cruise ships are today operating Scanship systems in the fleets of Norwegian Cruise Line Holding, 15 ships for Norwegian Cruise Line, one ship for Oceania Cruises and one ship of Regent Seven Seas.

“The two-year fleet-wide service agreement with Scanship includes preventive maintenance service visits, system tuning and remote monitoring for the most cost-efficient operations”, says Olivier Buton, Vice President Marine & Technical Supply Chain Management of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

“Under the two-year agreement we will work with Norwegian Cruise Line to secure efficient and compliant operations by effectual provisions of service, parts, and consumables”, Bettina Nowak, Managing Director of Scanship Americas.

 

Wärtsilä to supply engines and other systems for Viking Line’s newbuilding

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 20 November 2017 20 November 2017

The Helsinki based technology group Wärtsilä will supply the engines, the navigation system, and a broad scope of other products and systems for a luxury and environmentally friendly ferry being built for the Finland based operator, Viking Line. The ship is being built at the Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry yard in China and there is an option for a second vessel. The order with Wärtsilä was booked in October 2017.

Six Wärtsilä 31DF dual-fuel engines running primarily on liquefied natural gas (LNG) will provide the propulsion and power for the vessel. The diesel version of this same engine has been recognised by Guinness World Records as being the world's most efficient 4-stroke diesel engine. This will be the first marine application for the dual-fuel version. The combination of high efficiency, low fuel consumption, and the reduced level of exhaust emissions from operating on clean burning LNG, is expected to create low operating costs and a minimal environmental footprint.

Wärtsilä will also supply its LNGPac fuel storage and supply system and an advanced Compact Silencer System (CSS), high quality bow thrusters, the ballast water management system (BWMS), and its Nacos Platinum integrated navigation system. The Nacos Platinum system integrates various functions into a single system, allowing the vessel to be navigated, controlled, and monitored from several onboard positions, thus providing unequalled flexibility and convenience. The Wärtsilä BWMS is designed to render the ballast water discharge harmless of invasive species. Legislation making this compulsory came into effect in September 2017.

The recently launched Wärtsilä SmartPredict system is also included in the overall scope. This innovation is designed to provide ships with greater safety and more efficient operations by displaying the vessel's predicted future position and heading. It evaluates the wind and sea forces affecting the vessel to provide advanced motion prediction and has a configurable prediction time display.

"A new era in ferry operations was established in 2013 when Viking Line's 'Viking Grace' with Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines became the world's largest RoPax ferry to operate on LNG fuel. This latest Viking project represents another milestone as it will be the first vessel fitted with the highly efficient Wärtsilä 31DF engines. Both cases highlight the value our know-how and technology brings to our customers," says Roger Holm, President, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.

"The value of operating with Wärtsilä engines fuelled by LNG has been well established through our experience with the 'Viking Grace'. Furthermore, the LNGPac fuel system provides the necessary safety and non-stop operation required, so we had no hesitation in once again specifying Wärtsilä for this project," says Jan Hanses, President and CEO, Viking Line.

Commencing in early 2021, the new vessel will operate across the Baltic Sea between Turku, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden. The ship is the first LNG fuelled ferry of this size and standard to be built in China.