Wärtsilä has launched its new 2-speed marine gearbox offering notable economic and environmental benefits. The product will serve vessels having multiple operational modes or reduced transit speed, including among others RoPax ferries, offshore support vessels, tug boats, and fishing vessels, the Finnish company said Wednesday in a press-release.
Compared to a single mechanical propulsion system, a fuel consumption reduction of eight per cent was verified with Wärtsilä's 2-speed gearbox during sea trials. It is anticipated that further reductions of up to 15 per cent can be achieved, with a similar lowering of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulphur oxide (SOx) exhaust emissions.
These cost savings and environmental benefits are achieved by operating the ship's propeller at low speed when maximum vessel speed or propeller thrust is not required. At the same time, the engine speed is kept constant, thereby allowing the electric power generation from the Power Take-Off on the gearbox to remain uninterrupted. Furthermore, the Wärtsilä 2-speed gearbox will reduce noise emissions by as much as 20dB both inside the ship and externally. This allows greater comfort for passengers and crew, while the reduced underwater radiated noise is important for fishing and seismic vessels, and is beneficial to marine life in general.
The first ship to utilise the new Wärtsilä 2-speed marine gearbox is a rescue vessel owned by the Rescue & Salvage Bureau of the People's Republic of China's Ministry of Transport. The sea trials have been successfully carried out at the Huangpu shipyard in China. The contract was signed in December 2011. The vessel operates mostly in low speed mode and reaches full speed only for limited periods of time. The Wärtsilä 2-speed gearbox allows the operator to make the necessary adjustments as needed, thereby saving costs even when operating at low speed.The Wärtsilä 2-speed gearbox will be available with a high degree of modularization in the power range from 2 MW to 10 MW. This gearbox family has been designed in response to the increasing need for ship owners and operators to lower operating cost and to increase environmental performance. These requirements are likely to become even more crucial in the future. Wärtsilä will continue to introduce its range of 2-speed marine gearboxes throughout 2014 and 2015.
Helsinki-headquartered Wärtsilä Corporation is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. In 2010, Wärtsilä's net sales totaled EUR 4.6 billion with 17,500 employees. The company has operations in 160 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.