Wärtsilä Bags Service Deal for Brittany Ferries' New LNG-fueled RoPax

Wärtsilä will provide technical support via a long-term service agreement for its broad scope of solutions installed on Brittany Ferries’ latest RoPax vessel Salamanca. The 10-year agreement was signed in December 2021. The ferry will be inaugurated on March 25 and make its first commercial sailing from Portsmouth, U.K. to Bilbao, Spain on March 27.

Built at the the China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (CMJL) facilities in Weihai, Salamanca features two Wärtsilä 46DF dual-fuel main engines and three Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel auxiliary engines with gas valve units. It is the first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled passenger ferry to operate from the U.K. The vessel’s multi-fuel Wärtsilä engines are also adapted to utilize even cleaner fuels, such as synthetic or bio-methane, as and when they become available.

 Wärtsilä 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.

Wärtsilä 20 Dual-Fuel engines on board the Salamanca (Photo: Brittany Ferries)

“We have a responsibility to operate as environmentally efficiently as possible and the choice of LNG-fueled 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 optimize the ship’s operational performance, thus further raising its level of sustainability.”

The service agreement includes remote operational support and Wärtsilä’s Expert Insight digital predictive maintenance solution, which combines artificial intelligence (AI) techniques and advanced diagnostics with the company’s OEM expertise to identify anomalous equipment or system behavior. It proactively identifies and highlights potential failures allowing appropriate actions to be taken.

The agreement also includes long-term maintenance planning emphasizing a fully controlled and optimized maintenance budget. With round-the-clock technical and operational support provided from Wärtsilä’s Expertise Centers.

“The service agreement will ensure that the vessel’s sustainable propulsion solutions will be efficiently maintained so that its carbon footprint is minimized at all times,” said Nicolas Rossi Agreement Sales Manager, Wärtsilä Marine Power.