Wärtsilä Nacos Platinum System for Maersk Boxships

Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply the Wärtsilä Nacos Platinum integrated navigation, automation, and propulsion control systems for 27 new container vessels being built for Denmark based Maersk Line A/S. The contracts with Wärtsilä were signed in July and October 2015, and January 2016.

The vessels are under construction at yards in China and South Korea. With these orders, the latest 47 new buildings in the Maersk line fleet will all be fitted with the Wärtsilä Nacos Platinum system, thus emphasising its market application success. Wärtsilä will also provide a power management system and control consoles, as well as external communication facilities. The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery to the yards commencing in April 2016.

The integrated Wärtsilä Nacos Platinum system covers the control systems for navigation, automation, power and propulsion. By integrating all these functions into a single system, the vessel can be navigated, controlled, and monitored from various onboard positions. The truly multi-functional operator stations enable unequalled flexibility and convenience.

The increasing levels of automation and ship wide connectivity of essential sources of information continue to present opportunities for further operational expenditure reductions. Enhanced data has the potential to underpin these cost savings and become the bedrock of future competitive advantage.

"The broad scope of solutions to be provided by Wärtsilä represents further evidence of the company's extensive portfolio to the global shipping industry. Wärtsilä's capability to offer owners and operators fully integrated navigation and automation control systems underlines the company's position as the market leader for such systems - especially for high specification container vessels," says Stephan Kuhn, Vice President, Electrical & Automation, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.

"We are looking at a global service and support network as one parameter when systems are selected," says Jørgen Hansen, Maersk Line Ship Management. "Furthermore, with the ongoing and growing need for data availability, both internally as well as externally, Maersk Line finds the Wärtsilä Nacos Platinum an attractive solution. We also foresee many synergies across the 3 projects, not only in the design phase but also later when the vessels enter service, since operations with further innovation and developments are simpler and faster with one single supplier responsible for the whole system, rather than with several."