Cruising On Bergen

BY IAN CAMERON

Bergen diesel engines from Rolls-Royce have been selected to power an expeditionary oceanic cruise ship for Portuguese based company Mystic Cruises.

Rolls-Royce has signed a deal with WestSea Yard which is building the vessel at its facility in Viana do Castelo, northern Portugal with completion scheduled for October 2018.

Rolls-Royce will supply two Bergen, C25:33L8P main engines and a Bergen C25:33L6P auxiliary dual generator. These connect to a Low Voltage AFE “SAVeCUBE” Power Electric System which, Rolls-Royce said, allows the engines to operate at variable speeds maximising their efficiency for the required power.

The eight-cylinder C25:33L8P engines each has a maximum continuous rating of 2.66 MW at 1000 r/min. Rolls-Royce is also providing the automation and control system, the complete Promas propulsion system with two Controllable Pitch  Propellers integrated with two flap rudders, steering gears and tunnel thrusters. The six-cylinder C25:33L6P has a maximum continuous rating of 2 MW at 1000 r/min.

The vessel, to be called the MS World Explorer, will be Mystic Cruises first expeditionary oceanic cruise ship. The vessel will offer cruise itineraries in Antarctica from November to March. For the rest of the season it will visit small and distinct ports around the world normally not accessible to larger cruise ships, said Rolls-Royce.

The MS World Explorer will accommodate 200 guests and will have 111 crew members. The ship will have an operating cruise speed of 16 knots with a strengthened hull and propellers for traversing ice. She will be 126 meters in length with a width of 19 meters, a draft of 4.8 meters and a tonnage of 9300. She was designed by Italian naval architect Giuseppe Tringali.