Wärtsilä retrofit to reduce environmental impact of ferry operating in ecologically sensitive waters
The technology group Wärtsilä will carry out an important retrofitting project aimed at lessening the environmental footprint of a ferry operating on the Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage listed area in the south eastern end of the North Sea, the company said in its release.
The area features high biological diversity and is important for breeding and migrating birds. The retrofit will enable the 'Münsterland', a RoPax ferry owned by German operator Aktien-Gesellschaft 'Ems' (AG Ems), to utilise liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel, thereby completely eliminating its emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx) and particulates, while significantly reducing its nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.
The order with Wärtsilä was placed in July 2019. The work will take place at the Koninklijke Niestern-Sander B.V. yard in the Netherlands. The yard has facilities for shipbuilding and repairs under one roof, and will use these facilities to build a completely new aftship to accommodate the Wärtsilä LNGPac fuel storage, supply, and control system. This fitting of the new aftship is scheduled to commence in September 2020.
A similar retrofitting project was carried out in 2015 on the 'Ostfriesland', a sister ship to the 'Münsterland', and the success of this project was cited as a prime consideration in the award of this subsequent contract.
The vessel will be fitted with two Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel generating sets and a Wärtsilä LNGPac system. The scope of supply also includes Wärtsilä's patented Cold Recovery system, which utilises the latent heat of LNG in the ship's air conditioning, thus reducing electricity consumption. In addition to the environmental benefits, significant operational cost savings and an increase in overall vessel efficiency are the expected outcomes of the project.
Delivery of the Wärtsilä equipment will commence in spring 2020, and completion of the retrofitting is anticipated during Q1 2021. In addition to the retrofitting of these two ferries, the owners have also earlier ordered via a subsidiary company, Cassen Eils, a full Wärtsilä dual-fuel package for LNG operation for the ferry 'Helgoland'. The ship entered service in 2015.
Wärtsilä in brief:
Wärtsilä is a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation, total efficiency and data analytics, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2018, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 5.2 billion with approximately 19,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 80 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
