Mechanical Solution News

At the SMM 2012 exhibition in Hamburg, Lilaas debuted a family of innovative new marine control devices; innovation leveraging the storied company’s in-house software solutions and packaged in an elegant yet functional design. The marine industry has many with small, innovative family owned companies, and it is no coincidence that more than a few hail from Norway. Lilaas is a leading supplier of control levers and joysticks for the shipping industry, a family-owned Norwegian venture that unveiled two new product series: a new range of electronic levers and an improved joystick.

Cargotec has secured orders for three new mobile Siwertell ship unloaders for ports in Turkey, Denmark and Sweden. The Siwertell road-mobile unloader enables clean, dust-free, handling of dry bulk material, and its minimal exhaust and sound emissions also means that it has the advantage of being able to be used in sensitive sites or those close to populated areas. The first of these new orders has now been commissioned and sees a diesel-powered, trailer-based Siwertell 10 000 S unit with a dual bellows system and dust filters in operation for Muhammet Gümüstas, in Trabzon, Turkey. The new unit handles cement at a rated capacity of 300t/h.

Imtech Marine won a contract to supply the hybrid propulsion system, consisting of diesel electric in combination with battery technology to the world’s first diesel electric, hybrid seagoing ferries. Owned by Scottish company Caledonian  Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), the two vehicle and passenger RoRo ferries will be built by Ferguson Shipbuilders of Glasgow. The vessels will be powered by diesel generator sets, feeding power to a 400 Volt switchboard, which will  supply power to permanent magnet propulsion motors.

Wärtsilä, ship power system integrator for the marine industry, has received a ship design order from the Norwegian shipping company Sartor Shipping AS. The order is for two Vik-Sandvik 465 FSV design vessels that will be built at the Wison Heavy Industry shipyard in China. Wärtsilä scope of supply also includes two main engines, gear boxes and propellers. Sartor Shipping has options for further newbuildings at the yard. The vessels are due for delivery in 2010 and 2011. The design…

The decision to repower a vessel is a multi-faceted one, and it can be safely assumed that no two decisions in this arena are exactly the same. Whether it's a crewboat that needs new power units to accommodate a new scope of operation; extending the life of an old, but otherwise stable boat; a rip and refit to replace under performing engines; or as a simple factor in the overall vessel conversion equation - the decision to install new engines on a vessel entails a significant financial investment for the owner. This year has seen a number of significant and unique marine repowerings. The vessels covered in this report are unique in that they range from a 149-passenger tour boat to an 846-ft. long military freighter powered by gas turbine engines.

The decision to repower a vessel is a multi-faceted one, and it can be safely assumed that no two decisions in this arena are exactly the same. Whether it's a crewboat that needs new power units to accommodate a new scope of operation; extending the life of an old, but otherwise stable boat; a rip and refit to replace under performing engines; or as a simple factor in the overall vessel conversion equation - the decision to install new engines on a vessel entails a significant financial investment for the owner. This year has seen a number of significant and unique marine repowerings. The vessels covered in this report are unique in that they range from a 149-passenger tour boat to an 846-ft. long military freighter powered by gas turbine engines.

Wärtsilä, in conjunction with the Finnish research project SEATECH 2000+, has been developing some new machinery solutions for RoPax vessels. A promising concept is a semi-diesel electric machinery, where mechanical propulsion is combined with a diesel electric power plant. This new RoPax concept was presented for the first time at the Europort 2001 exhibition. The RoPax vessel has a semi-diesel electric machinery featuring a diesel mechanical part driving a conventional CP propeller and a diesel electric power plant powering a contra rotating electric pod and the entire hotel load of the ship. The machinery features Wärtsilä EnviroEngines equipped with Common Rail and compact SCR units.