Wärtsilä engines for Royal Caribbean Cruises

26 September, 2006 - Wärtsilä Corporation won an order in August to power a new post-Panamax cruise ship contracted by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL) for its Celebrity Cruises brand at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. With this order included Wärtsilä will now be powering the whole series of three new post-Panamax cruise ships contracted by RCL at Meyer Werft during 2006. The other two contracts were awarded to Wärtsilä in spring this year.

Each ship will be equipped with four 16-cylinder Wärtsilä 46 engines having a combined power of 67,200 kW. The engines will be arranged in a diesel-electric power plant supplying all propulsion and electrical requirements of the vessel.

The Wärtsilä engines will be equipped with common-rail fuel injection systems. The common-rail systems ensure that the engines have no visible smoke at any power level while also meeting international regulations for NOx emissions.

The ships are of a new class of 117,000 GRT cruise ships which are able to carry 2850 passengers in 1425 cabins. They will have overall dimensions of 315 m long by 36.8 m wide. The first two ships will be named Solstice and Equinox, and will be delivered from autumn 2008 onwards.

Order for retrofits in eight cruise ships received in spring
In addition, RCL has chosen Wärtsilä diesel engines for retrofitting in eight cruise ships of Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International. This order was received in spring this year. The new engines will give RCL better fuel economy while meeting all environmental requirements for air emissions.

The eight ships concerned are the Millennium-class ships of Celebrity Cruises and the Radiance class ships of Royal Caribbean International, all being of 91,000 grt and carrying 2000 passengers. Each ship has a 58 MW power plant based on gas turbine-driven generating sets for propulsion and all other electrical requirements on board.

The ships will now each be fitted with an additional 11.2 MWe generating set powered by a 16-cylinder Wärtsilä 38 engine. Wärtsilä will deliver the complete Wärtsilä 38 generating sets in Vee-form configuration with required ancillary equipment. The new generating sets will provide base load power for the ships. The low fuel consumption of the Wärtsilä 38 engines and their use of heavy fuel oil will thus significantly improve the ships’ fuel economy. The generating sets will be installed starting from 2007 onwards.

Wärtsilä contracted all in all 20 engines for RCL cruise ships in 2006
Wärtsilä Corporation has booked orders so far in 2006 to supply a total of 20 environmentally-sound diesel engines with a combined power of more than 358 MW to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL) for installation in 11 cruise ships, both newbuildings and retrofits. The value of all these orders is more than EUR 50 millions.

Long cooperation
Wärtsilä has supplied over 100 diesel engines for RCL cruise ships in operation or under construction, including the Vision, Voyager, Freedom and Solstice classes. These orders are a continuation of the long cooperation between the companies.

Welcome to meet us at the SMM exhibition in Hamburg, September 26-29, stand no. 132, hall A3!

Notes to the editor:

Wärtsilä enhances the business of its customers by providing them with complete lifecycle power solutions. When creating better and environmentally compatible technologies, Wärtsilä focuses on the marine and energy markets with products and solutions as well as services. Through innovative products and services, Wärtsilä sets out to be the most valued business partner of all its customers. This is achieved by the dedication of more than 12,000 professionals manning 130 Wärtsilä offices in over 60 countries around the world.

Contact Information

Marit Holmlund-Sund

Public Relations Manager

Wärtsilä Corporation

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