Finland: Wartsila to Carry Out Modification Work on Two Multipurpose Icebreakers

Business & Finance

October 24, 2011

Wärtsilä will supply two Finnish icebreakers with catalytic converters designed to significantly reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides, which are harmful to the environment and to human health. The ships will also be converted to enable the use of Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel fuel.

Wärtsilä, the marine industry’s leading solutions provider, has been contracted by Finland-based Arctia Offshore Oy to carry out modification work to two of the company’s vessels. The contract was signed in September 2011. The turnkey project involves the fitting of combined Wärtsilä NOx Reducer (NOR) and Oxidation Catalysts (OXI) to the MSV Fennica and MSV Nordica, both of which are multi-functional vessels based on a modified icebreaker design. The ships will also be converted to enable the use of Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel fuel.

When this conversion work is completed, the vessels will fulfil the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) emission requirements for operating in the Arctic Ocean. This opens up the possibility for Arctia Offshore to participate in arctic oil exploration projects in an environmentally sustainable manner.

The work will involve fitting the combined Wärtsilä NOR/OXI solution to each of the eight engines that drive the two vessels. The installation schedule is divided into two parts, with the first set scheduled for completion by the end of December 2011, and the second set by the end of April 2012.

“This represents yet another example of Wärtsilä’s competence in designing integrated solutions that are both technically advanced and environmentally sustainable. The conversion work that we will carry out on these two offshore service vessels will not only reduce their environmental impact, but will notably enhance their operational capabilities by allowing them to work in the sensitive environment of the Arctic Ocean,” says Leonardo Sonzio, Director Environmental Services, Wärtsilä.

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Source: Wartsila, October 24, 2011.