Slow steam ahead

Wärtsilä, a Finnish civil and military ship power systems integrator, has signed a major contract with one of the world’s largest shipping companies, the A.P. Moller Maersk Group (APMM) for the installation of Wärtsilä Slow Steaming Upgrade Kits to 34 more of the company’s large container vessels, following the successful installation and testing on one of the fleet’s sister vessels in late 2009.

The 34 ships to be fitted with Slow Steaming Upgrade Kits are powered by Wärtsilä RT-flex96C and RTA96C main engines with 10, 11 and 12 cylinders. Applied to the Wärtsilä low-speed main engines, the Upgrade Kits will produce major savings in the ships’ fuel consumption while also cutting CO2 emissions. The Upgrade Kits will be fitted by Wärtsilä as fully engineered solutions, with the company supplying all necessary material, labour, ship-specific engineering and full project management.