Marine fuel technology specialist Wärtsilä Corporation has been awarded a contract by Poland’s Gdańsk Shiprepair Yard “Remontowa” S.A., to supply a comprehensive scope of engines, propulsion machinery, integrated automation systems, and gas handling systems required for the mid-life upgrading of two RoPax ferries and their conversion to operate on Liquefied natural Gas (LNG) fuel.
The ferries, Spirit of British Columbia and Spirit of Vancouver, are the flagship vessels of British Columbia Ferry Services based in Victoria, Canada. Under a contract announced in March, the vessel upgrade and LNG conversion work will be carried by the Remontowa Shiprepair yard in Poland. The contract with Wärtsilä was also placed in March 2016.
“We know and trust Wärtsilä’s broad range of competences, and appreciate the detailed engineering and attention to schedule that Remontowa and Wärtsilä have undertaken for the completion of this project. The broad scope of equipment needed heightens considerably the importance of systems integration and LNG experience and in this we believe that Wärtsilä is one of the best in the marine sector,” says Mark Wilson, Vice President, Engineering, BC Ferries.
The LNG conversion work on the first of these ships will be carried out during the 2017/18 winter season, and during the following winter season for the second vessel. This means that the time allowed for completing the work is just seven months, including a delivery voyage of more than one month each way. The Wärtsilä equipment will be delivered to the shipyard in mid 2017 and mid 2018 prior to the arrival of the vessels.
“We congratulate British Columbia Ferry Services for having the foresight and vision to undertake these mid-life upgrades, and for making the two ships environmentally sustainable by converting them to operate on LNG fuel. We are also very pleased to be working on a major project again with the Remontowa yard, with whom we have had good cooperation in the past,” says Aaron Bresnahan, Vice President, Sales, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.
The full scope of Wärtsilä’s supply includes four Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines with fuel gas systems, integrated automation systems and power management systems, the Wärtsilä Pro-Touch propulsion control system, the power transmission systems comprising two gearboxes, the Wärtsilä LNGPac comprising the fuel storage tank, bunkering station, gas detection system and process control automation, Wärtsilä rudders, site representation and integration engineering, and crew training. The upgrading work will involve surveying the stern tube and renewing components, surveying and overhauling the controllable pitch propeller (CPP) hubs, redesigning and renewing the CPP propeller blades, surveying, renewing and overhauling the oil distribution boxes, and renewing two bow thrusters and E motors.
In December 2014, Wärtsilä was contracted to supply the dual-fuel machinery for three new LNG-powered ferries being built at the Remontowa yard on behalf of British Columbia Ferry Services.
(Source: Wärtsilä Corporation)
