Wärtsilä Supplying Engines and Thrusters For Six Brazilian Drillships

Wärtsilä 2800 kW underwater de-mountable thrusters. Photo: Wärtsilä

Wärtsilä, the marine industry’s leading solutions and services provider, said Monday it has been awarded a contract from Sembcorp Marine’s Jurong Shipyard to supply main generating engines and thrusters for six new deepwater drillships to be built at Brazil’s Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz.

The Jurong Aracruz shipyard, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore based Sembcorp Marine, will build the vessels for Sete Brasil, an investment company that manages asset portfolios in the oil and gas sector. The drillships will be used in the pre-salt deep-water drilling program of the Brazilian energy giant, Petrobras, and will be operated by drilling contractors Seadrill and Odfjell. Wärtsilä has referred to the order as a “milestone order” that is “a testimony to the company’s competitive position in a rapidly developing market.”

“In demonstrating our ability to supply Wärtsilä equipment, we have again illustrated our global strength and competitiveness. Drillships operating in very deep waters face challenging operational conditions, and the reliability, efficiency, and performance of the Wärtsilä supplied system is particularly important to such vessels. At the same time, environmental issues are a priority for the owners and operators of these ships, and again Wärtsilä’s track record in this field is second to none,” says Magnus Miemois, Vice President Wärtsilä Ship Power, Solutions.

Each of the six ships will be powered by 16-cylinder Wärtsilä 32 main generating sets and FS3510/NU underwater de-mountable thrusters, with the first deliveries scheduled for 2013. The first vessel is scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2015. Wärtsilä’s strong presence and support capabilities in Brazil, together with its considerable experience in supplying propulsion equipment for operations in demanding offshore conditions, were cited as being important considerations in the award of this contract. Wärtsilä has had operations in Brazil for more than 20 years and currently employs more than 600 people there.

Jurong shipyards have earlier built several offshore rigs and vessels using Wärtsilä propulsion systems. Similarly, both Seadrill and Odfjell have existing vessels powered by Wärtsilä equipment.

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