Wartsila to Equip Giant Dredger
A contract has been signed with the Tianjin Dredging Company, part of the China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) and the recently founded Dredging Group, under which Wärtsilä will supply the engines and all essential ancillaries for a new self-propelled cutter dredger. The vessel will be one of the largest and most advanced vessels of its type in the world, and will become CCCC Tianjin's flagship. The ship is being built at the Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries shipyard in China. The contract was signed in June.
"We have a strong relationship with Wärtsilä and we are confident that they can provide the technology and support needed to make this project a success," says Mr G.M Liu Chang Yun, Ship New Building Management Department, Tianjin Dredging Company of CCCC.
The Wärtsilä scope of supply, which includes three 16-cylinder Wärtsilä 32 engines, also features a thoroughly planned interface to the external systems including the latest Wärtsilä Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) system. Wärtsilä's CBM and Remote Monitoring solutions support the daily operation of the installation by applying the company's experience and operational know-how to keep the thermal and mechanical load at an optimum level. They also enable savings in fuel consumption, while simultaneously providing greater environmental sustainability.
"This ship will be one of the largest and most modern self-propelled cutter suction dredger ever built, and the biggest in the world in terms of pump capacity. Reliability and operational efficiency are, therefore, essential and we are proud that Wärtsilä solutions have been selected to achieve these requirements," says Mr Hans Laheij, Area Sales Director, Wärtsilä Ship Power.
The 140 metre long vessel will have a maximum dredging depth of 35 metres with a cutter power of up to 7500 kW. It is scheduled to be delivered in October 2017.
Wärtsilä and CCCC have a long term strategic cooperation agreement, signed on April 1st 2014, under which the companies work closely together on more efficient power and propulsion configurations. The aim of this agreement is to create solutions for CCCC's newbuildings that maximise their environmental sustainability and cost efficiency.
