Wärtsilä donates an engine and genset to Texas A&M University at Galveston

Wärtsilä has donated an 8-cylinder Wärtsilä 20 engine and generating set, to the Marine Engineering Technology Department at Texas A&M University at Galveston. The donation represents a continuation of Wärtsilä’s ongoing industry support programme aimed at helping future maritime sector leaders to acquire detailed understanding of marine technologies, the Finnish company said in a press release.

The donation includes specialty tools and will provide students with valuable hands-on experience for expanding their knowledge of engine repairs, emissions and fuel economy. In addition to the equipment, Wärtsilä will also offer engine training to the Texas A&M Galveston engineering professors through the Wärtsilä Land and Sea Academy based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

“Wärtsilä is a future oriented company. We not only develop technologies that move the industry forward, but are pleased to enhance the training of maritime specialists, naval architects, and marine engineers.  We are proud to invest in the future of the US Maritime Industry by donating this engine to Texas A&M Galveston,” says Aaron Bresnahan, Managing Director, Wärtsilä North America, Inc.

“This is a valuable learning and research tool for our students. They learn the basics of the engine and how to do various repairs that they might need one day at sea. It’s not a mock-up – it’s a real 1.6 megawatt engine as can be found in tugs and ferry boats. It’s just the kind of equipment our students will be working on once they graduate. It is an ideal tool for student education and for ongoing university research on marine power systems,” says Ed Clancy, Professor of Marine Engineering and head of the Marine Engineering Technology Department at Texas A&M Galveston.

The Texas A&M Maritime Academy is one of six state maritime academies in the United States. At the conclusion of their training program, cadets are examined to become licensed in the Merchant Marine as deck or engineering officers. Plans are underway by the university to power the donated engine so that students can have the full experience of operating and maintaining a modern engine. Once the genset is operational, Wärtsilä and Texas A&M Galveston will host a campus celebration and unveiling.

The company’s support to maritime sector students is also shown in its donations to other technical learning institutions. In 2011, Wärtsilä donated a diesel engine, reduction gear, PTO (power take-off) and controls to the SUNY (State University of New York) Maritime College. In that same year, a controllable pitch propeller and shafting system was donated to the United States Merchant Marine Academy, and in 2013 an engine was donated to Camosu College in Victoria, BC, Canada. In 2014, Wärtsilä donated a Wärtsilä 20 engine to the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in South Africa. This latter donation was part of the company’s long-term sponsoring partnership with the South Africa International Maritime Institute (SAIMI).