Eidesvik picks Wärtsilä for hybrid upgrade project

Norway’s Eidesvik AS is to upgrade its 2015-built construction vessel Viking Neptune. It has selected Wärtsilä  to engineer, supply, and commission a hybrid propulsion system for the vessel. Wärtsilä says this latest order follows two similar hybrid upgrade contracts it has been awarded in recent months.

The 15,900 dwt Viking Neptun is fitted with Wärtsilä engines and Wärtsila’s Low Loss Concept (LLC) electrical systems. By choosing Wärtsilä’s battery hybrid solution, the ship will be able to operate on a single generator set, together with batteries, during dynamic positioning (DP) operations. Integration of the new system with the existing Wärtsilä control systems will be seamless.

The hybrid solution will deliver customer benefits in the form of fuel cost savings and better environmental performance. Maintenance costs will also be reduced as the load on the engines will be more efficient and running hours less.

“It is very important to our company that we play our part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from shipping, which is why we give a high level of priority to sustainable operations for our fleet. We have worked closely with Wärtsilä for many years and we were comfortable with again selecting them for this hybrid upgrade project,” says Vermund Hjelland, Vice President, Technology & Development, Eidesvik AS.

“Wärtsilä continues to lead the industry’s technological transformation into a new era of greater efficiency and more sustainable operations. Our hybrid solutions are well established and proven, and this latest project order is a further endorsement of our competences in this field,” says Cato Esperø, Head of Sales, Service Unit Nordics and Baltics, Wärtsilä Marine.

The Wärtsilä scope includes two 870 kWh battery packs and two 2.7 MW drives for the hybrid system pre-installed in containers. Wärtsilä will also upgrade the existing switchboard, as well as the integrated automation and power management systems. The project is expected to be completed within a six months period.