Wärtsilä has been awarded a contract by STX Finland to supply the propulsion machinery for a new passenger ferry to be built for Viking Line, with an option for equipment for a similar sister ship.

The Wärtsilä 50DF can be run on natural gas, light fuel oil, or heavy fuel oil. Able to switch smoothly between fuels whilst operating, it is designed to provide the same output regardless of fuel. Photo courtesy of Wärtsilä.

Scheduled to enter service on the Turku-Stockholm route in 2013, the ship will be the largest passenger ferry to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) – and will be the most environmentally sound and energy-efficient large passenger vessel to date. The vessel will be capable of carrying cars, trucks, and road trailers and 2,800 passengers, and will be manned by a crew of 200.

Wärtsilä will supply four Wärtsilä 8L50DF main engines, transverse bow and stern tunnel thrusters, and two stainless steel fixed pitch, built-up main propellers with complete propeller shaft lines and shaft line seal systems.

Running on LNG, the vessel will have virtually zero SO_x emissions and its NO_x emissions will be at least 80% below current International Maritime Organization (IMO) levels. Its particulate emissions will be more than 90% below those of a conventional diesel configuration and CO₂ emissions will be 20-30% lower.

Wärtsilä has been at the forefront of dual-fuel technology and its 4-stroke Wärtsilä 50DF, Wärtsilä 34DF, and Wärtsilä 20DF engines – able to switch seamlessly between liquid and gaseous fuels – represent the best available technology in the field in terms of efficiency and low emissions.

“Wärtsilä’s long experience and strong competence in dual-fuel technology, with some 300 such engines already sold, was an important reason for Wärtsilä being awarded this order,” according to Viking Line’s Tony Öhman. The Viking XPRS seen here was delivered to the company by STX Finland in April 2008 for service between Helsinki and Tallinn. Photo courtesy of STX Europe.

For more on Wärtsilä, see our article or their Web site.

For more on STX Finland, see our article.

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