The Wärtsilä Yuchai Engine Company Limited (WYEC), a joint venture company founded in 2013, has been contracted to supply two 16-cylinder Wärtsilä 32 engines for a large new sand pumping vessel. The ship is being built at the Dongguan Xiandai Shipbuilding yard for a private Chinese operator, and the order with WYEC was placed in September. The ship will operate on both heavy fuel oil (HFO) and marine diesel oil (MDO), the company said in its press release.
The customer has a leading position as an innovator within the Chinese sand pumping vessel market. The Wärtsilä engines will be the largest ever to be installed in this type of ship in China, which will enable the company to extend their operations into deeper waters. The main reasons cited for selecting the Wärtsilä engines were their advanced technology, fuel efficiency and operational reliability. Wärtsilä’s capability to provide 24/7 service support in the South China Sea was another factor in the award of the contract.
The Wärtsilä engines are scheduled for delivery by mid 2017, and the ship is expected to begin operations in May 2018. A ceremony marking the start of construction was held on October 21, and was attended by management and sales personnel from WYEC.
Wärtsilä and Yuchai Marine Power Co. Ltd. (YCMP), a subsidiary of Guangxi Yuchai Group, signed an agreement in 2012 to establish a 50/50 joint venture for manufacturing medium-speed marine engines in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province. The joint venture serves the increasingly dominant Chinese shipbuilding industry, with the focus being on the assembly and testing of Wärtsilä 20, Wärtsilä 26 and Wärtsilä 32 engines. Manufacturing operations began in 2014.
The Wärtsilä 32 was developed in response to a need for a new engine in the 320 mm cylinder bore class, and since 1998 more than 2500 of these engines have been sold to the marine market. In total, more than 4500 Wärtsilä 32 bore engines have been delivered to the marine market since the 1980s. Based on the latest achievements in combustion technology, it is designed for efficient and easy maintenance and features extended maintenance-free operating periods. The engine is fully equipped with all essential ancillaries and a thoroughly planned interface to external systems. The Wärtsilä 32 engine is fully compliant with the IMO Tier II exhaust emissions regulations set out in Annex VI of the MARPOL 73/78 convention.