Wärtsilä to power Svitzer Australia hybrid ASD tugs

AUGUST 16, 2012 — Wärtsilä is to supply the power system for four new diesel-electric hybrid azimuthing stern drive tugs being built for Svitzer Australia Pty Ltd.at the ASL shipyard in Singapore. The tugs are scheduled to be in operation by early 2014.

Each of the four 80 ton bollard pull (TBP) harbor tugs will be fitted with two 9-cylinder and one 8-cylinder in-line Wärtsilä 20 engines. Wärtsilä says the use of the Wärtsilä 20 engines in diesel-electric generating sets is a new development in the tugs market.

The engines will operate on Marine Gas Oil (MGO). The tugs will be equipped with batteries that allow power from the Wärtsilä generating sets to be stored for later use.

“Modern tugs need to feature both fuel efficiency and environmental sustainability, as well as life cycle reliability. This contract represents further evidence of Wärtsilä’s strength in meeting these demands, and further emphasizes our ability to offer sophisticated diesel-electric machinery solutions for this particular sector of the marine industry,” says Aaron Bresnahan, Vice President, Wärtsilä Ship Power Specials.

“By selecting Wärtsilä 20 engines for the diesel-electric generating sets, the owner will benefit from their robustness and reliability, which has been proven by the fact that more than 4,000 of the engines have been delivered since this model was introduced to the market in the early 1990s. The Wärtsilä 20 offers low exhaust gas emissions, low operating costs, fuel economy across the entire engine operation range, and high redundancy,” says Mr. Bresnahan.