P&O Princess Cruises Picks EnviroEngines

Wärtsilä Corporation was tapped to supply 12 EnviroEngines for four cruise ships contracted by P&O Princess Cruises. Wärtsilä EnviroEngines employ electronically controlled common-rail fuel injection to provide optimum combustion over the entire load range, to give the particular benefit of no visible smoke at any load and when starting or during transient load changes. They also employ electronically controlled direct water injection to achieve the low NOx emission value of 6 g/kWh. These EnviroEngines for P&O Princess Cruises are the first to incorporate both technologies. As diesel engines, their high efficiency also means they have the lowest CO2 emissions of all prime movers. The smokeless operation of EnviroEngines is of particular attraction to P&O Princess Cruises, as it meets the need for a clear engine exhaust when operating in environmentally sensitive areas such as Alaska. The first eight Wärtsilä EnviroEngines, two Wärtsilä 9L46 engines, two Wärtsilä 8L46 engines and four Wärtsilä 16V46 engines, have successfully completed factory acceptance tests for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Chantiers de l'Atlantique and P&O Princess Cruises. On Wednesday, December 5, the eighth engine was tested in Turku in the presence of Charles Arkinstall, Executive Vice President, and senior technical staff of P&O Princess Cruises, together with Mikael Mäkinen, Group Vice President, Marine & Licensing, Wärtsilä Corporation. Two ships are building at Chantiers de l'Atlantique in France, with delivery scheduled in 2002 and 2003. They will each have two Wärtsilä 16V46 EnviroEngines, each delivering 16,800 kW at 514 rev/min. The ships will be named respectively "Coral Princess" and "Island Princess". When delivered, the "Coral Princess" will be the first vessel to enter service with fully fledged EnviroEngines. Two ships, the "Diamond Princess" and "Sapphire Princess", are also being built at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan. They are due for delivery from the Nagasaki yard in 2003 and 2004 respectively. These ships will each be equipped with two Wärtsilä 9L46 and two Wärtsilä 8L46 EnviroEngines. The nine-cylinder engines are rated at 9,450 kW output each at 514 rpm and the eight-cylinder engines 8,400 kW at the same speed.