Wärtsilä to Supply 36 Engines for New Arctic Gas Carriers

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä announced Thursday it has secured a deal to supply dual-fuel engines for six new 172,500-cubic-meter capacity liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers being built by South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) to serve the Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia’s Arctic waters.

The icebreaking gas carriers were ordered by Russia's Sovcomflot and Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines in October 2020, and each ship will be fitted with six Wärtsilä 46DF dual-fuel engines, plus gas valve units and auxiliaries. Deliveries of the equipment will commence in August 2021.

Wärtsilä, which supplied engines for 15 ships currently serving the Yamal LNG project, said it booked the latest order with DSME in December 2020, and that the contract, valued at more than €100 million ($121.3 million), includes an option for a further four ships.

The newbuilds will be the second generation of vessels engineered to transport LNG from the Russian Arctic, with special emphasis on year-round operation in the eastern sector of the Northern Sea Route.

DSME worked with Russian gas giant Novatek and Finnish engineering firm Aker Arctic to develop the new Arc7 LNG carriers featuring a completely new icebreaking hull form and increased propulsion power to increase speed and maneuverability in ice conditions. Each vessel's propulsion system will comprise three ABB Azipod units with a total capacity of 51 megawatts.