International Seaways aims for 5% fuel savings using Wärtsilä upgrades

Finnish engine manufacturer Wärtsilä will install propulsion solution devices on four 47,000 DWT medium-range (MR) tankers owned by chemical tanker operator International Seaways.

PHOTO: One of the four vessels to be fitted with the propulsion system upgrades. Wärtsilä

Wärtsilä will supply a pre-swirl stator and propeller cap with fins as upgrades to the vessel's existing controllable pitch propeller systems.

A pre-swirl stator optimises the inflow of water towards the propellor blades, while propeller cap is fitted on to the propellor and rotates together with the propellor. Both upgrades can help reduce the vessel's bunker fuel consumption by 5%, Wärtsilä claims.

These solutions can increase the overall propulsion efficiency and 'significantly' reduce underwater noise, the company adds.

The devices will be retrofitted during each vessel’s drydock starting this summer. The four vessels to be fitted with the propulsion solutions are Seaways Galle, Seaways Gatun, Seaways Hercules, and Seaways Huron. 

By Aparupa Mazumder 

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