Wärtsilä LNG engines selected for North Sea ferry

The system consists of twin 9-cylinder Wärtsilä 20DF medium-speed diesel engines, which offer a 5% increase in power and a 7% decrease in fuel consumption in LNG-mode, compared to the engine’s previous version.

The vessel, to operate between Cuxhaven and Helgoland island in Germany, will also be equipped with a Wärtsilä LNGPac fuel bunkering and supply system, as well as Wärtsilä's patented Cold Recovery System, which utilises the latent heat of LNG in the ship's air conditioning systems, thus reducing the amount of electricity consumed in cooling compressors.

"As the vessel must fulfil the IMO regulations regarding SOx and NOx emissions in the North Sea's Emissions Control Area, its operations need to be ecologically friendly with the lowest possible emissions,” says Bernhard Brons, chairman of Reederei Cassen Eils parent company AG EMS. “We already know Wärtsilä's capabilities as the company retrofitted our MS "Ostfriesland", delivering a full propulsion package with a minimum of interfaces.”