New Wärtsilä waterjets picked for Trinidad & Tobago cat

Written by Nick Blenkey
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The new 100 meters long catamaran ferry, being built by Australian shipbuilder Incat Tasmania for the Trinidad & Tobago Government, will feature the recently introduced Wärtsilä WXJ waterjets (Image copyright Incat)

Wärtsilä has won its first order for its new WJX series of waterjets introduced in early March.

Four WXJ1200 waterjets will power the 100 m long, wave-piercing catamaran ferry ordered from Incat Tasmania by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in January.

The ferry will be capable of a service speed of 36 knots. It will be able to carry up to 1,000 passengers and 239 cars, or a combination of trucks and cars

Wärtsilä says that booking of the first order for the WXJ series within the same month as its release indicates that the clear benefits it offers have been immediately recognised by the market.

The series is a further development and upgrading of the Wärtsilä LJX series of waterjets. Even greater efficiency has been achieved, and the cavitation and underwater noise levels are lower. Though the WJX offers the same small transom interface dimensions and the best-in-class weight as the earlier series, overall performance is improved.

“We are proud to have been selected again to deliver our Wartsila waterjets for this new high-speed ferry. The well-proven design of Wärtsilä’s waterjets has led to a significant number of repeat orders from world-renowned fast ferry builders, such as Incat. Also, the Government of Trinidad & Tobago is already operating multiple catamarans powered by Wärtsilä waterjets, which means that both the yard and the owners are very familiar with the best-in-class quality and performance of our waterjet solutions,” says Lars Anderson, Director Propulsion, Wärtsilä Marine.

“We have worked with Wärtsilä for many years already, and we have complete confidence in their waterjets. The new WXJ series takes the performance to an even higher level, bringing even greater value to this exciting new vessel,” says Tim Burnell, CEO, Incat Tasmania.

In addition to the four WXJ waterjets, Wärtsilä will also supply the Wärtsilä ProTouch operational control system for the ferry. The equipment is scheduled for delivery in May 2020, and the ferry is expected to be handed over to the owners in late 2020.

Wärtsilä axial waterjets are single stage, compact, high performance systems that combine mixed flow properties with an axial construction. This results in less space being needed on the vessel’s transom, and greatly increased waterjet cavitation margins for optimum vessel operational flexibility. For naval architects, the axial jet technology creates the possibility to apply a larger power density onto narrower hulls in order to achieve top vessel performance.

Detail of WJX waterjet
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