Smarter marine solutions Wärtsilä

SmARTER mARiNE SoLuTioNS

Finnish multinational Wärtsilä, a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets, is celebrating its 185th anniversary this year. Having recently signalled its intention to transfer from an equipment manufacturer, to a Smart Marine and Smart Energy organisation, following the acquisitions of global companies such as Transas, Greensmith Energy Management and Guidance Marine, Wärtsilä is positioning itself as a global marine and energy systems integrator. Philip Yorke reports.

Wärtsilä was founded in Finland in 1834 with the construction of a sawmill by a rapid river in Tohmajärvi. Since then, the company has grown and expanded into a true global leader in Marine and Energy Smart solutions. The company’s core technologies for the marine sector include key services for a broad range of vessels including cruise ships, merchant ships, navy ships, as well as special vessels, tugs and offshore hybrid segments. Marine support services include online services, underwater services, turbocharger services and also dedicated solutions for the marine, energy and oil and gas markets.

In 2018 the company employed almost 20,000 people. Today Wärtsilä operates globally from 200 locations in more than 80 countries worldwide. Last year the company posted sales of over €5 billion.

Celebrating 185 years of progress

On the 12th April this year, Wärtsilä will be celebrating 185 years of its company’s progress. To commemorate this milestone, Wärtsilä has commissioned a book called “Of machines and people”, which brings together many stories of Wärtsilä’s history over the past 50 years. The book depicts the last five decades of operation by looking at the way that the people who have been part of creating the new Wärtsilä have experienced them. ‘Of machines and people’ is not a traditional version of a company’s history opus. It is an easyto-read visual journey dedicated to the last five decades of Finish society and filled with fascinating personal anecdotes and stories.

“Wärtsilä is an institution, and it has been a major employer and creator of many industries throughout its long history. Almost every Finn has a personal link to the company in some way” said journalist Pekka Vanttinen, who undertook the monumental task of composing the story from countless interviews with Wärtsilä employees, past and present.

The editor-in-chief of the book was Atte Palomaki, Wärtsilä’s Executive Vice President, of communications and branding. He says that in honour of Wärtsilä’s anniversary, the company has donated copies of the book to every library in Finland.

New smart-marine vision

In line with its intention to accelerate its smart marine eco-system vision and its transformation from an equipment maker to an integrated Smart Marine Company, the global marine technology group has recently strengthened its position as a global leader in the world’s maritime markets. In doing so it has introduced the first Wärtsilä-branded, high-speed engine: the Wärtsilä 14. This is a high-speed, compact engine designed to fit customers’ needs for limited space and weight. The engine also offers lower capital costs. In addition it meets all current and future global emissions regulations and provides customers with improved efficiency, as well as increased safety and greater environmental sustainability.

This all-new engine underscores Wärtsilä’s Smart Marine vision, as the brand continues to offer customers increasingly wider options for meeting the industry’s specific operational needs.

Highly versatile and engineered to support a wide range of applications within both marine and offshore markets, the new Wärtsilä 14 engine serves as both a main propulsion unit and an auxiliary genset, and is ideal for hybrid installations. This small but mighty high-speed engine is available in 12 and 16 cylinder configurations, delivering output of 755–1340 kW in mechanical propulsion, and 675–1155 kWe in auxiliary and diesel-electric configurations.

Wärtsilä’s genset offering is ideal for vessels, owners and operators, where power-to-weight ratio, fuel type, efficiency and safety and environmental compliance are key considerations. Examples of such operating operations include tugs, fishing vessels, offshore service vessels, small ferries and the merchant auxiliary market requirements among many others.

Smart power generation

Wärtsilä has also been involved in the design and construction of power plants used by industry and utilities for decades. The company has delivered a staggering 4,800 power plants ranging from 10 to 600 MW in 177 countries worldwide, making it a true global player. The smart power generation power plants work using multiple internal combustion engines and can run on any liquid or

gaseous fuels, including biofuels. Wärtsilä power plants provide a high level of energy efficiency, as well as operational flexibility, helping to integrate solar and wind power into the grid.

At the vanguard of the global transition of the energy landscape towards more flexible, sustainable energy systems, Wärtsilä is envisaging a 100 per cent renewable energy future. As the Energy System Integrator, they continue to design, build and serve power systems for future generations.

oil & gas

For several decades, Wärtsilä has been a pioneer in the development of gas technology. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the main driver of the global gas market and the company has offerings for every step in the gas value chain. From product level to total LNG solutions to engine power plant integration, Wärtsilä is consistently developing its gasfuelled solutions so to retain the combination of low emissions and high efficiency that is unparalleled in the oil and gas industry.

Wärtsilä also provides services to their customers, from financing and project development, and procurement to engineering. With broad portfolios in both on and offshore LNG solutions, every step of the process is covered.

Revolutionary dock-to-dock solutions

Recently Wärtsilä Marine successfully completed a further round of test procedures of its revolutionary, automated dock-to-dock system. In an unprecedented operation, and in the presence of the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA), the system was further tested on the ferry “Folgefonn”, this time for a full dock-to-dock capability. This was conducted with the autonomous operation being utilised uninterrupted for the entire route, whilst visiting three ports serviced by the ship.

“This represents a huge step forward in validating automated shipping solutions, and an important progression within our Smart Marine Programme. This emphasises once again Wärtsilä’s recognised position as the global technology leader in marine innovations. We continue to lead the way in developing ‘intelligent’ products and systems needed to move the maritime industry forward towards a new era of super-high efficiency, safety and environmental sustainability” said Joonas Makkonen, Vice President Voyage Solutions, Wärtsilä.

The success of these tests cannot be underestimated. Once the operator selected the next destination berth, the operation was started by simply selecting “Sail”, which authorises the autonomous controller to take full control of the vessel. Following this the vessel was able to leave the dock, manoeuvre out of the harbour and sail to the next port of call. Thereafter it was able to make its way through the harbour entrance, and dock alongside the terminal, and all without human intervention. It is believed to be the first attempt at a fully automated dock-to-dock operation in a complete ‘hands-off’ mode, for a vessel of this size. n

For further details of Wärtsilä’s latest innovative marine products and services visit: www.wartsila.com.