Wärtsilä supplies integrated propulsion for LNG tugs

Designed by Canada’s Robert Allan, in cooperation with Østensjø Rederi, the tugs will be equipped with a bollard pull of 100 tonnes. The vessels are destined for Statoil's Melkøya terminal near Hammerfest, Norway.

The scope of supply combines Wärtsilä’s LNGPac fuel system with an integrated gas handling system and the Wärtsilä Gas Valve Unit (GVU), and six-cylinder Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines, to be delivered in the first half of 2016.

"These are trend setting tugs in that they provide environmental sustainability through the use of LNG fuel,” said Carl Johan Amundsen, project manager at Østensjø Rederi. “Wärtsilä is the technology leader in making this trend possible. At the same time, the flexibility of the dual-fuel engine technology also ensures a high level of operational security since the switch from gas to diesel can be made at any time without loss of speed or power.”