Wärtsilä to upgrade Eidesvik’s construction vessel with hybrid propulsion system for greater efficiency and more sustainable operations

A Wärtsilä hybrid upgrade will enable Eidesvik’s ‘Viking Neptun’ to become more environmentally sustainable and fuel efficient. Copyright: Eidesvik.

(PRESS RELEASE) HELSINKI, 2-Oct-2019 — /EuropaWire/ — Wärtsilä to engineer, supply, and commission a hybrid propulsion system for an offshore sector vessel. Norway-based Eidesvik AS has selected Wärtsilä to upgrade its ‘Viking Neptun’ construction vessel. The order was placed in August 2019 and follows two similar hybrid upgrade contracts in recent months.

The 2015 built, 15,900 DWT, ‘Viking Neptun’ is fitted with Wärtsilä engines and Wärtsila’s Low Loss Concept (LLC) electrical systems, making the integration of the new hybrid propulsion system seamless. The new system will enable the ship to operate on a single generator set together with batteries during dynamic positioning (DP) operations.

The Wärtsilä hybrid solution offers numerous benefits to customers such as, fuel cost savings, better environmental performance and lower maintenance costs since the load on the engines will be more efficient and the running hours will be less.

Cato Esperø, Head of Sales, Service Unit Nordics and Baltics, Wärtsilä Marine, said: “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.”

Vermund Hjelland, Vice President, Technology & Development, Eidesvik AS, commented: “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.”

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

For media information:

Ms Marit Holmlund-Sund
General Manager, Positioning, Marine Business Marketing
Wärtsilä Corporation
Tel: +358 10 709 1439
marit.holmlund-sund@wartsila.com

Mr Vermund Hjelland
Vice President Technology & Development
Eidesvik AS, 5443 Bømlo, Norway
Phone: +47 53 44 80 55
Switchboard: +47 53 44 80 00
Mobile: +47 91 19 69 83
E-mail: vermund.hjelland@eidesvik.no

SOURCE: Wärtsilä