Wärtsilä has been commissioned
to supply the steerable and tunnel thrusters for two new wind farm turbine
installation vessels being built for the China Three Gorges Corporation
(CTGC), a China state-owned power company.
The
orders were placed by CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Co, the yard building
a 2000-ton wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV), and China Merchants
Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Co, the yard building a 3000-ton heavy lift vessel.
The orders with Wärtsilä were placed in May 2021.
According to Wärtsilä, the thruster solutions ensure optimal positioning
for offshore installation vessels regardless of the sea and weather conditions.
Furthermore, the compact Wärtsilä thruster package is designed to reduce
weight without compromising performance.
“Wind
power is becoming increasingly important for China, and we are building
these two ships on a fast-track schedule to support this programme. We
appreciate Wärtsilä’s ability to deliver the thrusters in line with our
timetable. Their local engineering and project management assistance is
of great value to us,” said Mr. Wang Peng, Project Manager, China
Three Gorges Corporation.
“We
are proud to have been awarded the contracts for these new vessels. As
with all Wärtsilä products and solutions, our thrusters are designed to
ensure optimal efficiency, high hydrodynamic performance, less maintenance,
and better accessibility for servicing. They reach and exceed the performance
levels required in today’s competitive operating environment,” said
Lauri Tiainen, Product Director Thrusters & Propulsion, Wärtsilä Marine
Power.
Each
of the vessels will have an optimised thruster configuration consisting
of WST-32FP main propulsion units and relevant WTT transverse thruster
sizes. The design of the thrusters aims to improve redundancy for less
energy consumption, and proven reliability. They also comply with applicable
environmental regulations with the use of Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants
(EAL)
