Ljx News

Spanish shipping company Baleària has put into service its newest vessel, Eleanor Roosevelt, said to be the world’s first very large catamaran Ro-Pax ferry powered by dual-fuel reciprocating engines.Designed by Incat Crowther, the 123-meter-long aluminum vessel was built by Astilleros Armon at its Gijon shipyard in Spain using modular construction techniques. It is classed by Bureau Veritas.The Incat Crowther 123 Dual-Fuel Ro-Pax is powered by a quartet of Wärtsilä 16V31DF main engines. Each of these engines produces 8800kW and drives a Wartsila LJX 1500 waterjet.

Wärtsilä said it will provide the propulsion solutions for a new 115-meter high-speed ferry being built by Austal at the Australian shipbuilder’s yard in the Philippines for Danish operator Molslinjen.The newbuild will feature four Wärtsilä 31 engines, recognized by Guinness World Records as being the world’s most efficient four-stroke diesel engine, and four Wärtsilä WXJ1500SRI waterjets. Wärtsilä will also supply its ProTouch bridge controls system. The order with Wärtsilä was placed in May this year.“This combination of the Wärtsilä 31 engine and WXJ waterjets is unique for fast ferries…

The Wärtsilä WXJ series of modular waterjets have scored its first installation, onboard a  new 100-m wave-piercing catamaran ferry being built for the Government of Trinidad and Tobago at the Incat shipyard in Tasmania, Australia.The WXJ series was officially launched in early March 2019. The series is a further development and upgrading of the Wärtsilä LJX waterjets, with greater efficiency with lower cavitation and underwater noise levels.In addition to the four WXJ waterjets, Wärtsilä will also supply the Wärtsilä ProTouch operational control system.

The technology group Wärtsilä has announced that its LJX series of modular waterjets has been upgraded to deliver even greater efficiency with low levels of cavitation and underwater noise. Following this upgrading, the company’s modular waterjets will be redesignated as the Wärtsilä WXJ series.The development is based on a new axial pump design, which boosts performance with an increased thrust of as much as 3 percent, while the improved cavitation margins help reduce the environmental impact by lowering noise levels.

Incat delivered its latest large fast ferry, a 110-meter catamaran for Virtu Ferries of Malta dubbed Saint John Paul II.Saint John Paul II is the 44th large commercial fast ferry delivered by Incat and the sixth in excess of 5,500gt in the past decade; a decade also shared with 19 other Incat newbuilds of smaller passenger ferries and support vessels.“Using the latest computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and hydrodynamic free-running model test techniques, the well proven Incat Wave Piercing Catamaran hullform has been further developed for Mediterranean winter conditions…

Balearia announced construction of the world’s first fast ferry for passenger and cargo powered by dual-fuel LNG engines. The Incat Crowther 125 design is a new class of ferry, being the first to use dual-fuel reciprocating engines and will also be one of the largest fast catamarans in service when it is delivered in 2020.The new design will be constructed by Spanish builder Astilleros Armon at their Gijon shipyard. The partnership of Astilleros Armon and Incat Crowther have together developed a high level of technical capability and capacity to deliver large aluminium catamarans.

Australian shipbuilder Incat has been awarded a contract for the design and construction of a large new vehicle-passenger ferry for a major European operator. The new vessel for Naviera Armas is the second vessel in Incat’s new generation 109 meter high speed wave piercing catamaran range and will operate in Spanish waters when delivered in early 2019. Born out of theIncat 112 meter, the concept was redesigned from the keel up by Incat’s in-house naval architects and engineers at Revolution Design Pty Ltd.

A new generation fast ferry has left Tasmania on her delivery voyage to Denmark via the Panama Canal. The Express 3 is a 109 meter long high speed vehicle/passenger ferry from Australian shipbuilder Incat Tasmania for Danish operator Molslinjen, becoming the fourth Hobart-built catamaran in the company’s current fleet. An entirely new generation fast ferry, the 109 meter wave piercing catamaran Express 3 has evolved from Incat’s well proven 112 meter catamaran range which first entered commercial service in mid-2007. Incat’s Tim Burnell commented, “The design brief was simple.

The Incat Tasmania Pty shipyard in Hobart, Australia has again specified Wärtsilä waterjets and controls for a new fast ferry, the 'KatExpress 3', being built for Danish operator Mols-Linien. The yard has previously specified Wärtsilä waterjets for a number of fast ferry projects. This latest order was placed in November. The scope of supply includes four Wärtsilä LJX 1500 SRI waterjets and a Wärtsilä Lipstronic control system. The equipment is scheduled for delivery to the yard in September, 2016. "The strong relationship between Wärtsilä and the Incat yard continues, and this latest order confirms the good cooperation that the two companies enjoy. It also underlines Wärtsilä's commitment to the Australian market.

The latest delivery from Australian shipbuilder Incat Tasmania Akane, an 85 metre high speed Wave Piercing Catamaran Ferry, Incat hull 068, will arrive in Japan early April. Built at the Incat shipyard at Prince of Wales Bay, Hobart the vessel was sea trialled late   March, and has departed Hobart on her delivery voyage. The vessel will go into service in April with Sado Kisen, a long standing ferry operator in Japan. Akane will operate from the Niigata and Naoetsu ports on the west coast of Japan to the Sado Island ports of Ogi and Ryotsu.

Incat Tasmania’s dual-fuel vehicle & passenger ferry 'Francisco' has attained 58.1 knots operating on LNG fuel only. Francisco has been constructed for South American company Buquebus, for service on the River Plate, between Buenos Aires Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay. With water ballast removed, and with both Port and Starboard Gas Turbines operating on LNG; Francisco achieved 58.1 knots at 100% Maximum Continuous Rating (MCR), which the Australian builders take to be a world record…

Incat won a contract to build the world’s first high speed passenger RoRo ship powered by Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). The 99m high speed ferry, with capacity for over 1000 passengers and 153 cars, is being built at the Incat Tasmania shipyard at Prince of Wales Bay in Hobart for delivery in 2012 to a customer who has requested anonymity, for both itself and the proposed route. Incat and Revolution Design engineers are working with technical personnel from GE in Europe and the U.S.

In mid 2006 Wärtsilä Corporation introduced the new LJX axial water jets for the propulsion of fast vessels with promises of a 25% reduction in transom mounting flange diameter, a 10% overall reduction in weight and a 35% improvement in cavitation margin. These benchmarks were reportedly met when the first LJX waterjet units were put through full-scale trials in July 2007. These were LJX 1500 size units of 9000 kW capacity. LJX water jets in the size range from 1800 to 22,000 kW have been ordered. The Australian engineering consultancy firm Sinclair Knight Merz Pty Ltd (SKM) was commissioned to undertake a comprehensive test programme to map various jet performance parameters throughout the trials.

Wärtsilä Corporation introduces a new compact, high-performance waterjet that is optimized for fast vessels. The new Wärtsilä LJX waterjet offers, in comparison with other waterjets available today, a 25 percent reduction in mounting flange diameter, a 10 percent overall weight reduction and a 35 percent increase in cavitation margin. The LJX waterjet allows further innovation in fast vessel design. The new Wärtsilä LJX waterjet is being developed to allow an optimum number of waterjets to be chosen for a given propulsion power requirement without requiring an excessive transom width in high-speed vessels. Generally, when selecting waterjets…