Wärtsilä has signed a turnkey contract with Containerships Ltd Oy. The agreement covers the retrofitting of a Wärtsilä fresh water scrubber for the vessel Containerships VII, which is equipped with a Wärtsilä W7L64 main engine. This is Wärtsilä's first commercial marine scrubber project for a main engine. The scrubber will be delivered to the customer in August 2011. The conversion will enable the vessel to meet future sulphur oxides (SOx) emission requirements in Sulphur Emission Control Areas.
Scrubbing is a means of meeting the increasingly stringent International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and EU regulations. Scrubbers efficiently reduce exhaust gas emissions such as sulphur oxides and particulates, and slightly also nitrogen oxides.
"The Wärtsilä fresh water scrubber technology will meet both environmental and commercial requirements for our operations. We see it as a clear advantage that Wärtsilä, with its long experience in emissions abatement technology, delivers the scrubber solution," said Sigurjon Markusson, CEO, Containerships Ltd Oy.
The Wärtsilä scrubber is a fully integrated design that aims to achieve optimal lifecycle efficiency. The system complies with the new IMO guidelines for cleaning the exhaust emissions from all 2- and 4-stroke engines and oil-fired boilers.
Wärtsilä is the first manufacturer to have been awarded a marine scrubber certificate by the classification societies Det Norske Veritas and Germanischer Lloyd. Wärtsilä aims to strengthen its position as a major supplier of scrubbers and other exhaust gas cleaning technology for maritime applications. The company seeks to support its customers in meeting the requirements being set by increasingly stringent environmental legislation.
The Wärtsilä scrubber works with fresh water in a closed-loop system in which sulphur oxides are neutralized with caustic soda. A small amount of scrubbing water is extracted to remove contaminants in a treatment unit onboard, thereby fulfilling all the quality and monitoring requirements stipulated by the IMO. In so-called zero discharge mode, the clean effluents are led to a holding tank for scheduled and periodical discharge. Contaminants are always disposed of at reception facilities in port.