Wartsila Watch: 29 September 2006

•Wärtsilä cylinder lubricating system for retrofit - 25 September 2006

Wärtsilä Corporation has received considerable interest for retrofitting of the new, electronically-controlled Pulse Lubricating System (PLS) to RTA and RT-flex low-speed marine diesel engines. Orders have already been received for 25 complete engine installations, amounting to 284 cylinders, and the first retrofit was completed in September 2006.

The Pulse Lubricating System delivers reduced cylinder oil consumption without compromising piston-running reliability. This is made possible through an improved distribution of cylinder lubricating oil to the cylinder liner, and the fully flexible, precise timing of oil delivery.

The Pulse Lubricating System is available now for retrofitting to RT-flex96C and RTA96C engines, and will be available from January 2007 for RT-flex84T-D and RTA84T-D engines. Additional engine types will be added to these in 2007. The first full retrofit is to the 12-cylinder RTA96C main engine of the 7500 TEU container ship "Cosco Shenzhen" managed by E.R. Schiffahrt GmbH & Cie KG of Hamburg. The retrofit was completed by Wärtsilä service engineers in Long Beach, California, USA, early in September 2006 without any delay to the ship's sailing schedule. E.R. Schiffahrt has contracted Wärtsilä to retrofit the Pulse Lubricating System to all nine RTA96C engines in its fleet.

The Pulse Lubricating System can be retrofitted during commercial operation of the vessel. It is an independent system with only few connections or interfaces to other systems, and utilises the engine's existing cylinder liners. Thus preparation and installation are easy and fast. All equipment including prefabricated piping is supplied, with installation and commissioning being undertaken by Wärtsilä service engineers.
To a substantial extent this material can be installed during the voyage considerably reducing port time required for final installation and commissioning. Installation of controls, pumps, wiring and interface connections to remote and alarm monitoring systems is executed during the voyage as well. Ample attention is paid to commissioning, fine adjustment and running-in of the Retrofit PLS in port and during a confirmation voyage.

•Wärtsilä engines for Royal Caribbean Cruises - 26 September 2006

Wärtsilä Corporation won an order in August to power a new post-Panamax cruise ship contracted by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL) for its Celebrity Cruises brand at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. With this order included Wärtsilä will now be powering the whole series of three new post-Panamax cruise ships contracted by RCL at Meyer Werft during 2006. The other two contracts were awarded to Wärtsilä in spring this year.

Each ship will be equipped with four 16-cylinder Wärtsilä 46 engines having a combined power of 67,200 kW. The engines will be arranged in a diesel-electric power plant supplying all propulsion and electrical requirements of the vessel.

The Wärtsilä engines will be equipped with common-rail fuel injection systems. The common-rail systems ensure that the engines have no visible smoke at any power level while also meeting international regulations for NOx emissions.

The ships are of a new class of 117,000 GRT cruise ships which are able to carry 2850 passengers in 1425 cabins. They will have overall dimensions of 315 m long by 36.8 m wide. The first two ships will be named Solstice and Equinox, and will be delivered from autumn 2008 onwards.

In addition, RCL has chosen Wärtsilä diesel engines for retrofitting in eight cruise ships of Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International. This order was received in spring this year. The new engines will give RCL better fuel economy while meeting all environmental requirements for air emissions.

The eight ships concerned are the Millennium-class ships of Celebrity Cruises and the Radiance class ships of Royal Caribbean International, all being of 91,000 grt and carrying 2000 passengers. Each ship has a 58 MW power plant based on gas turbine-driven generating sets for propulsion and all other electrical requirements on board.

The ships will now each be fitted with an additional 11.2 MWe generating set powered by a 16-cylinder Wärtsilä 38 engine. Wärtsilä will deliver the complete Wärtsilä 38 generating sets in Vee-form configuration with required ancillary equipment. The new generating sets will provide base load power for the ships. The low fuel consumption of the Wärtsilä 38 engines and their use of heavy fuel oil will thus significantly improve the ships' fuel economy. The generating sets will be installed starting from 2007 onwards.

Wärtsilä contracted all in all 20 engines for RCL cruise ships in 2006. Wärtsilä Corporation has booked orders so far in 2006 to supply a total of 20 environmentally-sound diesel engines with a combined power of more than 358 MW to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL) for installation in 11 cruise ships, both newbuildings and retrofits. The value of all these orders is more than EUR 50 millions.

•Joint venture for major engine factory in China - 27 September 2006

China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, Wärtsilä and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to establish a joint venture to produce low-speed engines in China.

China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), Wärtsilä Corporation of Finland and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) of Japan are preparing for the building of a joint-venture factory in China for the manufacture of large low-speed marine diesel engines. The joint-venture agreement is being signed by Qingdao Qiyao Linshan Power Development Co Ltd (QQLPDC) and Panda Shinco Holding BV (PSH). The joint venture is subject to final official approvals which are expected to be received at the end of October 2006.

QQLPDC is jointly owned by Yichang Marine Diesel Plant (YMD) and Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute (SMDERI), both being underlying units of CSIC. PSH is jointly owned by Wärtsilä and MHI.

Under the terms of this agreement, QQLPDC and PSH will establish the company Qingdao Qiyao Wärtsilä MHI Linshan Marine Diesel Co Ltd (QMD) in China. QMD will be dedicated to the research and development testing, prototype manufacture, production and sale of large low-speed two-stroke marine diesel engines.

The QMD joint venture is a further step in the development of the comprehensive co-operation agreement signed between Wärtsilä and CSIC in 2005 and also of the strategic alliance in the field of two-stroke marine diesel engines signed between Wärtsilä and MHI in September 2005. Wärtsilä has already established the joint venture factory Wärtsilä Qiyao Diesel Co Ltd (Shanghai) with Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute for the manufacture of four-stroke marine diesel generating sets near Shanghai.


•Wärtsilä to power Project Genesis cruise ship - 28 September 2006

Wärtsilä Corporation received a contract from Aker Yards Oy, Finland, in July 2006 for the delivery of the main engines and the transverse tunnel thrusters for the 220,000 grt Project Genesis cruise ship contracted by Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd (RCL) for operation by Royal Caribbean International.

Due for delivery in autumn 2009, this cruise ship will be powered by six Wärtsilä 46 common rail diesel engines. The engines will be incorporated in the ship's diesel-electric power plant supplying all propulsion, ancillary and hotel services. Wärtsilä is also supplying four Lips transverse tunnel thrusters.

The Project Genesis is a huge leap in size, being some 43 per cent larger than RCL's record-breaking "Freedom of the Seas" delivered earlier this year by Aker Yards. The 160,000 grt "Freedom of the Seas" is the latest of a long line of RCL cruise ships powered by Wärtsilä diesel engines. These include four delivered from France in 1995-1998, and five Voyager-class ships from Finland in 1999-2003 in addition to several earlier deliveries

About Wärtsilä Corporation:

Wärtsilä enhances the business of its customers by providing them with complete lifecycle power solutions. When creating better and environmentally compatible technologies, Wärtsilä focuses on the marine and energy markets with products and solutions as well as services. Through innovative products and services, Wärtsilä sets out to be the most valued business partner of all its customers. This is achieved by the dedication of 13,000 professionals manning 130 Wärtsilä offices in over 60 countries around the world.