Wärtsilä to Power Japanese Ferries

Wärtsilä Corporation won a contract by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to supply eight Wärtsilä 12V46 medium-speed diesel engines for two new ferries ordered by Shin-Nihonkai Ferry of Osaka in Japan. The ferries are due for delivery from itsubishi's Nagasaki yard in mid 2004. They will employ a new propulsion concept known as CRP pod propulsion with a Combined Diesel-Electric and Diesel-Mechanical (CODED) machinery plant. The new ferries will each have a single CP propeller driven mechanically by two Wärtsilä engines, while an azimuthing pod drive immediately aft of the main propeller will be electrically driven from two Wärtsilä-engined generating sets. The pod drive is in contra-rotation to the main propeller, thus contra-rotating propeller (CRP) pod propulsion. The ferries are designed for a trial speed of 31.5 knots. They measure 17,000 gt(Japanese domestic measurement) and have a length of 224.5 m. The twin Wärtsilä 12V46C main engines used for mechanical drive of the main propeller have a combined output of 25.2 MW. The electrical power for the 17.6 MW azimuthing pod drive and the hotel load is supplied in each ferry by two similar Wärtsilä 12V46C engines in main generating sets and one smaller harbour generating set.