Wärtsilä’s newly launched WXJ series of modular waterjets received its first order within same month of its release

The Wärtsilä WXJ series of waterjets feature high performance with less noise and cavitation. Copyright: Wärtsilä

(PRESS RELEASE) HELSINKI, 23-Apr-2019 — /EuropaWire/ — Wärtsilä announces the first order for its newly introduced Wärtsilä WXJ series of modular waterjets. Four Wärtsilä WXJ1200 waterjets will power A new 100 metres long, wave-piercing catamaran ferry being built for the Government of Trinidad and Tobago at the Incat shipyard in Tasmania, Australia.

Wartsila officially launched WXJ series in early March, and received booking of its first order within the same month. This indicates that the clear benefits it offers are immediately recognised by the market. The new series is a further development and upgrading of the Wärtsilä LJX waterjets. Achieving even greater efficiency, and lower cavitation and underwater noise levels than with the LJX series. The small transom interface dimensions, and the best-in-class weight remain from the earlier series, but the overall performance is improved.

Lars Anderson, Director Propulsion, Wärtsilä Marine comments: “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.”

Tim Burnell, CEO, Incat Tasmania: “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.”

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

The ferry will be able to carry up to 1000 passengers and 239 cars, or a combination of trucks and cars and will be capable of a service speed of 36 knots.

Wärtsilä axial waterjets are single stage, compact, high performance systems that combine mixed flow properties with an axial construction. Resulting in much 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.

SOURCE: Wärtsilä