Dual-Fuel Makes The Cut

Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply a comprehensive package of engines and propulsion machinery for a new cutter suction dredger that the company said would be the world’s most powerful cutter and first to be fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The Spartacus, which is being built on behalf of Belgium-based Dredging International (DEME), is being built at the Royal IHC yard in the Netherlands. The order with Wärtsilä was booked in the fourth quarter of 2016 and is valued US$21 million.

The 164 m long vessel will have a total installed power of 44 180 kW. It will incorporate four nine-cylinder Wärtsilä  46DF dual-fuel engines, two eight-cylinder Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel engines, and a Wartsila LNGPac fuel gas storage and supply system with a newly designed bi-lobe tank arrangement. Wärtsilä will also supply two fixed pitch propellers with shaft assemblies and HP nozzles, and two tunnel thrusters, as well as commissioning, site supervision, and extended project management services. The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery to the yard during the fourth quarter of 2017.

“Wärtsilä has worked in close cooperation with the owners starting from the early stages of this large project. This has enabled a well-engineered and fully integrated propulsion arrangement and an LNG fuel system that is optimized for the needs of the vessel,” said Arthur Boogaard, general manager, Business Development Special Vessels at Wärtsilä.

“Wärtsilä has provided excellent support throughout the design phase, and we are confident that this results in a highly efficient CSD with lower operating costs than would have been otherwise possible. We are very aware of our environmental responsibilities, and for this reason, we have opted for Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines running on clean-burning LNG fuel,” said Jan Gabriel, Head of newbuilding and conversion department at DEME.

The Spartacus is expected to be delivered to the customer in mid-2019 and will operate in different locations around the world. CSDs are able to dredge nearly all kinds of soils, including sand, clay and rock. They are used wherever the ground is too hard for conventional dredgers to operate.

DEME is a long-standing customer of Wärtsilä and has, in recent years, utilized Wärtsilä solutions for numerous vessels, including three hopper dredgers, a cable installation vessel, an offshore construction vessel, as well as the Spartacus.