Wärtsilä gets BigLift with propulsion package order

The orders are for propulsion systems for eleven ships that the Spliethoff Group has ordered at the Ouhua Shipyard in Zhejiang, China. The Wärtsilä scope of delivery includes engines, propellers and efficiency rudders as well as bow thrusters to form a complete integrated propulsion system for the ships.

The new orders are for five 16,800 dwt heavy lift vessels to be operated by BigLift Shipping, and six 12,500 dwt multi-purpose vessels. Deliveries of the heavy lift vessels will take place between August and December 2010, with the multi-purpose vessels delivered between December 2010 and May 2011. With these additional newbuildings the total order book is now about 20 vessels under delivery with Wärtsilä propulsion solutions for the Spliethoff Group

‘These new contracts strengthen the successful and long standing relationship between Spliethoff and Wärtsilä. More than 60 Spliethoff vessels in operation are equipped with Wärtsilä propulsion systems’, said Reinier de Vries, senior account manager for Wärtsilä in the Netherlands.

For the heavy lift vessels, Wärtsilä’s scope includes an 8 cylinder in-line Wärtsilä 46 main engine with an output of 8,400kW at 500 rpm, a controllable pitch (CP) propeller, a Wärtsilä Energopac efficiency rudder, and a bow thruster.

‘The propulsion technology carried by these vessels has been effectively optimized by designing an efficient rudder/propeller combination, and by employing a 6m propeller. Wärtsilä used both computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and full scale tank tests in finalising the design’, added de Vries.

For each multi-purpose vessel, Wärtsilä will be delivering a 6 cylinder in-line Wärtsilä 46 main engine with an output of 5,430kW at 500 rpm, a CP propeller and bow thrusters. The design of the engine and propeller allows the customer to achieve maximum fuel efficiency.

The Spliethoff Group owns and operates a large and modern fleet of about 100 vessels, of which 55 are multi-purpose tween deck vessels ranging between 12,000 and 24,000 dwt. When heavy duty equipment is required, the company calls on the assistance of BigLift Shipping, a Spliethoff Group company.

Spliethoff’s policy is to build a series production of a number of sister vessels. This ensures that several vessels of the same size are available, thus providing excellent operational flexibility.