Successful sea trial for Wärtsilä dual-fuel two-stroke
The five-cylinder, 500mm bore Wärtsilä RT-flex50DF onboard ‘Ternsund’, with a maximum power of 5,850kW at 102 rpm, was run for several days in gas mode (and with several switches to diesel mode) during sea trials on 22-28 May. The engine on the 15,000dwt vessel was also run at high loads in both modes, and was successful in all aspects of the trial, according to shipbuilder AVIC Dingheng Shipbuilding.
As reported, the engine is the first commercial application of the dual-fuel Wärtsilä X-DF series – employing low-pressure gas injection – developed by Winterthur Gas & Diesel (WinGD). It was delivered to the shipyard in October 2015 by WinGD’s engine manufacturer Yuchai Marine Power Co.
The new tanker is intended to validate dual-fuel propulsion concepts at sea, and is part of the ‘Into The Future – Baltic SO2lution’ project between Terntank, Wärtsilä, WinGD, fuel and bio-products supplier North European Oil Trade (NEOT) and energy and environmental consultant Wega Enviro. The EU co-funded project promotes environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient shipping in the Baltic Sea.
The tanker boasts an overall length of 147 metres and a beam of 22 metres, with a design speed of 14.5 knots. It is the first of four sister ships under construction for Terntank at AVIC Dingheng.
