Wärtsilä announced that has been contracted to supply engines and propulsion machinery for the mega Cutter Suction Dredger (CSD) vessel, ‘Spartacus’, which is currently being built at the Royal IHC yard in the Netherlands and is to be delivered to Belgium-based Dredging International (DEME). The order with Wärtsilä was booked in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The company aims to make ‘Spartacus’ the world’s most powerful CSD and the first ever to be fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG).
In particular, the 164 metre-long vessel will have a total installed power of 44,180 kW. It will feature four 9-cylinder Wärtsilä 46DF dual-fuel engines, two 8-cylinder Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel engines, and a Wärtsilä LNGPac fuel gas storage and supply system with a newly designed bilobe tank arrangement. Wärtsilä will also supply two fixed pitch propellers with shaft assemblies and HP nozzles, and two tunnel thrusters, as well as commissioning, site supervision, and extended project management services. The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery to the yard during the fourth quarter of 2017.
“Wärtsilä has worked in close cooperation with the owners starting from the early stages of this large project. This has enabled a well engineered and fully integrated propulsion arrangement, and an LNG fuel system that is optimised for the needs of the vessel,” says Arthur Boogaard, General Manager, Business Development Special Vessels at Wärtsilä.
“Wärtsilä has provided excellent support throughout the design phase, and we are confident that this results in a highly efficient CSD with lower operating costs than would have been otherwise possible. We are very aware of our environmental responsibilities, and for this reason we have opted for Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines running on clean burning LNG fuel,” says Jan Gabriel, Head of newbuilding and conversion department at DEME.
The ‘Spartacus’ is expected to be delivered in mid-2019 and will operate in different locations around the world. CSDs are able to dredge nearly all kinds of soils, including sand, clay and rock. They are used wherever the ground is too hard for conventional dredgers to operate, the company explained.
Source: Wärtsilä
