Wärtsilä has received its 1000th order for the 2-stroke, electronically controlled, common-rail low-speed diesel engine.
The 1000th order will power an efficient Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) tanker being built for JX Tanker Company Limited, the Yokohama, Japan based major tanker company. The 310.000 DWT vessel is being built at the IHI Marine United Inc., Kure shipyard, and is scheduled for delivery in 2014. The engine will be manufactured by Diesel United, Ltd. (DU), a Wärtsilä licensee in Japan.
The newly upgraded Wärtsilä RT-flex82T version B engine is based on the very popular RT-flex82T, which has accumulated more than 100 reference installations, and is the perfect choice for VLCC vessels that need an efficient, simple, reliable and safe machinery solution. The high stroke-to-bore ratio along with the RT-flex common-rail system in Wärtsilä two-stroke engines, provide superior performance. The highest flexibility of engine tuning possibilities makes it possible to achieve the lowest fuel oil consumption in all operational conditions for VLCCs.
The first Wärtsilä RT-flex common-rail 2-stroke engine entered into service in 2001. The fact that 1000 of these engines have been ordered in just eleven years, despite the post 2008 slump in the shipping sector, indicates that Wärtsilä is the preferred choice for electronically controlled engines, which are now the leading propulsion machinery option for merchant ships.
“This latest order is significant for Wärtsilä for two reasons; it takes us past the 1000th order milestone for electronically controlled engines with good environmental performance, and is also the first order for the upgraded RT-flex82T version B engine for a next generation eco type of VLCC. For both reasons, we are extremely proud and happy,” says Martin Wernli, President, Wärtsilä Switzerland and Vice President, Wärtsilä Ship Power, 2-stroke.