Finnish maritime manufacturer Wärtsilä has been awarded a contract to supply its propulsion systems onboard three Aasen Shipping vessels.
The self-charging cargo vessels are currently under construction at the Royal Bodewes Shipyard in the Netherlands and will feature the “Wärtsilä 25” engine.
The Wärtsilä 25 engine functions as a medium-speed, modular four-stroke marine engine available in diesel, dual fuel LNG and dual fuel ammonia versions.
The contract was booked in September 2023 and will witness delivery of the propulsion systems to the shipyard by 2025 and 2026.
Stefan Nysjö, Vice President of Power Supply, Wärtsilä Marine Power commented on the partnership and expressed the company’s interest.
Nysjö said: “The combination of the highly efficient and flexible Wärtsilä 25 engine with batteries provides both optimised operations and environmental sustainability. The ships can use electrical battery power when in harbour and for low-load operations, and then switch to the main engines for transit”.
“We look forward to continuing our collaboration with both Aasen Shipping and Royal Bowedes on our shared commitment to decarbonising marine operations.”
The three 9500 DWT vessels will feature various Wärtsilä systems including its NOx reduction system, gearbox controllable pitch propeller and the Pro-Touch bridge control system.
This agreement extends the relationship between both companies which includes the Finnish manufacturer equipping the ‘Aasfoss’ and ‘Aasfjell’ vessels with its propulsion systems in 2021.
Johan Tiemersma, Project Manager at Royal Bowedes added: “As we understand that becoming emission-free is the biggest challenge of our generation, our focus at Royal Bowedes is to build innovative, sustainable and cost-efficient vessels for the industry.
“We are proud to be working alongside Aasen Shipping and Wärtsilä to utilise technology and solutions which will ensure these new self-discharging cargo vessels can cut emissions and reduce fuel costs, whilst keeping carbon costs to a minimum”.
