Wärtsilä to Equip Virgin Voyages’ New Cruise Ships

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä has been contracted to provide a comprehensive scope of solutions for three new 2,800-passenger cruise vessels being built for Virgin Voyages, a part of Virgin Group of companies.

The ships, which will be built at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, will feature Wärtsilä’s engines, hybrid exhaust cleaning scrubber systems, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems and integrated navigation systems.

The Wärtsilä solutions have been selected to support the requirement for clean and efficiently operating vessels. The cruise vessels will each be powered by two eight-cylinder and two twelve-cylinder Wärtsilä 46F engines.

The Wärtsilä Hybrid Scrubber System selected for these vessels has the flexibility to operate in both open and closed loop modes using seawater to remove sulphur oxides (SOx) from the exhaust. Significant reductions in the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulates will be made possible by the Wärtsilä SCR system. Wärtsilä will also handle the commissioning of the engines and scrubber systems in cooperation with the shipyard.

Navigation and automation controls for the vessels will be handled by the Wärtsilä’s Nacos Platinum solution.

Florida based Virgin Voyages’ cruise operations will commence in 2020 from Miami with the delivery of the first of these three 110,000 gross ton ships. The other two vessels are scheduled to join their owner in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

With a length of 278 meters and a width of 38 meters, the vessels will feature over 1,400 guest cabins and will be able to host more than 2,700 passengers, accompanied by 1,150 crew members.