Wärtsilä Waterjets for New Danish High-speed Ferry

Wärtsilä informs it has been contracted to supply four waterjets plus the hydraulics and control system for a new 109-meter-long high-speed RoPax ferry being built at the Austal Ships Pty yard in Australia for Molslinjen A/S of Denmark. The order with Wärtsilä was booked in May 2017.

The new vessel will be an all aluminum catamaran having a top speed of 40 knots. It will be equipped with two full vehicle decks for 425 cars, or 610 lane meters for trucks and up to 232 cars. The ship will be able to carry more than 1,000 passengers. When delivered, the contracted route for the vessel is the crossing of the Kattegat between Aarhus and Odden.

The ship is scheduled for delivery during the fourth quarter of 2018, and the Wärtsilä equipment will be delivered to the yard in May 2018.

Wärtsilä said its compact axial flow jet solution was considered the most appropriate choice for this vessel, since it offered the customer optimal weight and performance criteria for the ship's mission profile.

According to Wärtsilä, its modular waterjets feature a compactly designed axial pump with excellent efficiency, cavitation and noise characteristics. The high performance components are made of stainless steel to prevent wear and corrosion, while the water lubricated bearing in the stator bowl provides an environmentally friendly solution. The inlet design is tailored to the outline and operational profile of each individual vessel.