DSME orders 54 Wärtsilä engines for icebreaking Yamal LNG carriers

Steel was cut at the end of September for the first of the Arc7 ice-class 172,600 cu m ships. A total of 16 DSME-built ships will serve the Yamal project, earlier this year Teekay and China LNG placed orders for six of the vessels and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and China Shipping contracted for three LNG carriers.

The dual-fuel engines are capable of running on LNG, HFO or MDO, with LNG the main fuel to be used on the ships. The vessels will be able to operate in ambient temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees celcius, breaking through ice over two metres thick.

For each LNG carrier Wärtsilä will supply 12-cylinder and 9-cylinder Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel engines with a total power output of 64,350 kW per vessel.

"The fitting of Wärtsilä 50DF engines onboard the first LNG carriers in 2006 set a trend in the industry and since that introduction, 65% of all new LNG carriers have been fitted with Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines. The strong success of this particular engine over the alternatives is based on its superior propulsion efficiency and the clear environmental advantages that operating on gas allows," says Lars Anderson, vice president, Wärtsilä Ship Power.