Wärtsilä to Supply Power Generation and Propulsion Systems for Six Brazilian Drill Ships

Wärtsilä, the marine industry’s leading solutions and services provider, has been awarded the contract from Jurong Shipyard Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine to supply main generating engines and thrusters for six new deep water drill ships to be built in Brazil at Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz. The contract was signed at the end of September.

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 drill ships to be used in the pre-salt deep-water drilling programme of the Brazilian energy giant, Petrobras, will be operated by drilling contractors Seadrill and Odfjell. This milestone order is a testimony to the company’s competitive position in a rapidly developing market.

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.

“In demonstrating our ability to supply Wärtsilä equipment, we have again illustrated our global strength and competitiveness. Drill ships 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.

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.