Finland's marine engine and equipment maker Wärtsilä said Friday it would deliver the steerable and tunnel thrusters for two new wind farm turbine installation vessels being built for the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC), a China state-owned power company.
The ships will serve China’s expanding offshore wind power sector.
The orders were placed by CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Co, the yard building a 2000-ton wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV), and by China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Co, the yard building a 3000-ton heavy lift vessel.
Wärtsilä said its thruster solutions will provide the level of performance required to ensure optimal positioning for offshore installation vessels regardless of the sea and weather conditions.
"Furthermore, the weight of onboard equipment is an important consideration for jack-up vessels, and the compact Wärtsilä thruster package saves weight without compromising performance," Wärtsilä said.
3000T heavy lift vessel equipped with Wärtsilä thruster WST32 and WTT28 © MARIC
“Wind power is becoming increasingly important for China, and we are building these two ships on a fast-track schedule to support this program. We appreciate Wärtsilä’s ability to deliver the thrusters in line with our timetable. Their local engineering and project management assistance is of great value to us,” says Wang Peng, Project Manager, China Three Gorges Corporation.
“We are proud to have been awarded the contracts for these new vessels. As with all Wärtsilä products and solutions, our thrusters are designed to ensure optimal efficiency, high hydrodynamic performance, less maintenance, and better accessibility for servicing. They reach and exceed the performance levels required in today’s competitive operating environment,” says Lauri Tiainen, Product Director Thrusters & Propulsion, Wärtsilä Marine Power. 
Wärtsilä Steerable Thruster WST 28 © Wärtsilä
According to Wärtsilä, each of the vessels will have an optimized thruster configuration consisting of WST-32FP main propulsion units and relevant WTT transverse thruster sizes.
"The future-proof design of the thrusters features high redundancy for less energy consumption, and proven reliability. They also comply with applicable environmental regulations with the use of Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EAL)," Wärtsilä said.
The Finnish firm pointed out that China is expected to boost its offshore wind power generation capacity to 50 gigawatts by the end of 2029. The aim is to reach ten percent of the country’s total wind power generation capacity, which currently is at three percent.
Wärtsilä Fixed Pitch Propeller Transvers Thruster WTT 24 © Wärtsilä
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