Singapore owners pick Wärtsilä X72 power for six newbuilds

OCTOBER 12, 2012 — Two Singapore-based shipping companies have chosen Wärtsilä X72 electronically controlled low speed engines to power six new vessels ordered from Chinese shipyards. The Wärtsilä equipment will be installed on four container vessels that Pacific International Lines has ordered from Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company on two bulk carriers being built by Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co. Ltd. for another Singapore shipowner.

The Wärtsilä X72 has been selected as the main engine for these ships, with delivery of the first engines scheduled for early 2014.

Wärtsilä says that the X72 engine offers exceptional efficiency and fuel consumption performance to provide a favorable Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI). The improvement in fuel consumption, when compared to conventional marine engine options, results in correspondingly reduced CO2 emissions.

“The maritime sector continues to confront the need to achieve lower operational costs and better environmental performance. The Wärtsilä Generation X engines were specifically developed to address these needs, and we are confident that in selecting the Wärtsilä X72 engine for their new ships, these owners will reap substantial benefits,” says Martin Wernli, Vice President, Wärtsilä Ship Power, two-stroke. “In fact, compared to similar vessels that have recently been delivered, the bulk carriers’ fuel consumption can be reduced by approximately 5 tons/day, while the container vessels can achieve savings of 4 tons/day.”

Wärtsilä launched its low-speed Generation X engine series in May 2011 with two mid-sized engines, the X62 and X72, designed specifically for vessels that use mid-size, low-speed engines; such as Panamax to Capesize bulk carriers, Aframax to Suezmax tankers, and Feeder to Panamax container vessels. The series also includes the X35 and X40, which cover the small bore end of the market, such as small bulk carriers, product tankers, general cargo vessels, reefers, feeder container ships, and small LPG carriers. The recently introduced Wärtsilä X92 is a direct response to the container shipping industry’s move towards larger ship sizes and more efficient propulsion systems.

The first of these electronically controlled, low speed engines was started in November 2011 and passed its factory test in February 2012.

To date, a total of 24 Wärtsilä Generation X engines have already been ordered since their market introduction.

This new engine series has numerous features designed to provide greater operational efficiencies with a reduced environmental impact. These include extended rating fields that offer the optimum propeller speed for different applications, low fuel consumption resulting from the advantageous stroke-to-bore parameters, the well-proven Wärtsilä electronically controlled common-rail system for high performance, tested reliability, an extended interval period of five years between overhauls, various tuning methods optimized for several vessels applications, and stable operation down to 12 percent of the nominal engine speed for easier maneuvering.

Wärtsilä says that the overall reliability of these engines, together with the lower fuel costs and reduced maintenance expenditures that they offer, results in a lower total cost of ownership.