Wartsila offers tech support to Salamanca vessel

Wartsila will provide technical support via a 10-year service agreement for its solutions installed on Brittany Ferries’ LNG-fuelled RoPax vessel, the Salamanca.

The Salamanca – which will be inaugurated on 25 March and make its first commercial sailing from Portsmouth to Bilbao on 27 March – is the first LNG-fuelled passenger ferry to operate from the UK.

The vessel’s multi-fuel Wärtsilä engines are also adapted to use other alternative marine fuels, such as synthetic or bio-methane, as and when they become available.

The scope of the service agreement includes long-term maintenance planning, remote operational support and Wärtsilä’s Expert Insight digital predictive maintenance solution.

‘We have a responsibility to operate as environmentally efficiently as possible and the choice of LNG-fuelled propulsion is in line with this commitment,’ said Arnaud Le Poulichet, Director Engineering and Maintenance Brittany Ferries. ‘The advanced technical support provided by Wärtsilä will optimise the ship’s operational performance, thus further raising its level of sustainability.’

Nicolas Rossi Agreement Sales Manager, Wärtsilä Marine Power, added: ‘We congratulate Brittany Ferries on the inauguration of the Salamanca, a ferry that is in complete alignment with the maritime sector’s ambitions towards decarbonised operations. The service agreement will ensure that the vessel’s sustainable propulsion solutions will be efficiently maintained so that its carbon footprint is minimised at all times.’

The Salamanca was built at the CMJL (China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Weihai)) facilities in China. It features two Wärtsilä 46DF dual-fuel main engines and three Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel auxiliary engines with gas valve units. Wärtsilä has also supplied two LNGPac fuel storage, supply and control systems, two tunnel thrusters, two tail shafts, the stern tube seals, a Wärtsilä Aquarius Ballast Water Management System, and Wärtsilä’s Nacos Platinum integrated navigational system.

Source: Bunker Spot