Marine and industrial power specialist Wärtsilä has announced a contract for the delivery and integration engineering of two electric Retractable Thrusters and an electric Dynamic Positioning (DP) system for the CCGS Amundsen, a Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) icebreaker.
According to the company, it was able to meet the CCG’s challenging requirements for build quality and fitting the equipment into the existing space of the 98m-long (321ft) Arctic Class 3 Medium icebreaker, the only vessel in its class to be fitted with Retractable Thrusters and DP. The new Thrusters will be integrated with the existing Bow Thruster, which is also a Wärtsilä product.
“The Platinum DP system will exceed the functionality desired by the CCG, and will enhance the DP capacity of the vessel to perform sailing and maneuvering operations,” stated Mike Ford, sales manager for Americas & DP at Wärtsilä Voyage. “By offering the most intuitive user interface on the market, Platinum DP also reduces the training requirements for successful system operation. The user interface plays a critical role in helping operators make the most of the system in the trying conditions found in Canada’s Arctic waters.”
Meanwhile, Ian Brouwer, senior sales manager at Wärtsilä Marine Power, noted that projects such as this are complex affairs. “We continue to work closely with the CCG to ensure that we fully understand and successfully meet their requirements for specification writing, documentation and project management. Supplying the products is only part of the picture, as they need to be engineered for complete integration with the Amundsen’s existing machinery, and for this we have outstanding capabilities.”