Wärtsilä To Provide Hybrid Propulsion Which Will Support Vessel Acta Centaurus
Wärtsilä To Provide Hybrid Propulsion Which Will Support Vessel Acta Centaurus
Wärtsilä, the technology group has decided to provide hybrid propulsion capability for a new offshore wind construction support vessel. Thus the ‘Acta Centaurus’, a DP2 walk-to-work construction support vessel owned by Netherlands-based Acta Marine, will gain fuel consumption and environmental benefits through being able to operate the vessel with less running engines at more optimized load. In May 2019 the order with Wärtsilä was placed.
Wärtsilä will provide the solution which includes the hybrid drive, the batteries, and an energy management system. Wärtsilä will also carry out the installation, testing and commissioning of the hybrid system, as well as upgrading the existing onboard systems of Acta Centaurus to make it suitable for a hybrid drive.
“Hybrid propulsion is becoming an increasingly adopted trend for meeting the challenges faced by today’s maritime industry. Wärtsilä has been a forerunner in developing the technology to make this both possible and feasible, and our track record in this field is already significant,” says Joel Knif, General Manager, Marine Project Sales, Wärtsilä Marine.
For the hybrid conversion, the installation of the equipment needed will take place during the fourth quarter of this year.
The Wärtsilä hybrid propulsion solution provides benefits deriving from the flexibility and efficiency provided by the technology. These vessels have a high dynamic positioning load and thus have fluctuating power requirements which is an ideal situation for hybrid and can result in a CO2 reduction around 15%.
The clients on a worldwide basis are supported by Shipowner Acta Marine in areas such as dredging, civil construction, offshore oil & gas and offshore renewables. The company is independent and family-owned and owns and operates a fleet of about 450 support vessels.
Reference: wartsila.com
