Wärtsilä scrubbers to be installed in two RoPax newbuilds

A worker doing the final cleaning of another Wärtsilä scrubber before delivery to Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI). [Image: © Wärtsilä Corporation]

Under a contract signed last month with China’s Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI), two newbuild 218-meter roll-on/roll-off passenger (RoPax) will be fitted with Wärtsilä exhaust gas cleaning systems.

The contract will see Wärtsilä fit and commission two 25-megawatt V-SOx hybrid scrubber systems, which can run in both open and closed loop configurations, on each vessel.

With the exhaust gas abatement technology installed, the RoPax vessels will immediately comply with the 0.5% global sulfur cap. They will also be futureproofed against impending regulatory change. This is because Wärtsilä’s modular, lifecycle technologies can be upgraded to tackle other pollutants, including nitrogen oxide (NOx), particulate matter (PM) and carbon dioxide (CO2).

“We are very excited to start 2022 with this order of SOx scrubbers onboard two RoPax vessels being built by our partners at GSI, said Mr Wang Bin, area sales manager at Wärtsilä Exhaust Treatment in China. “This agreement not only proves our long-term partnership with GSI, but also demonstrates the commercial and technical viability of scrubbers in shipping’s complex decarbonization landscape.”

“It is a real pleasure for us to be working with Wärtsilä to fulfil this latest order on two RoPax vessels,” said Jiang Lei, purchasing manager, GSI. “We recognize the long-term potential of scrubbers for solving many crucial challenges in the shipping industry, and we are proud to carry out installations at our development-oriented shipyard.”

Wärtsilä and GSI will complete the delivery and installation of the four exhaust gas cleaning systems by the end of 2023 for both vessels.