The press release states that the new vessel from Wartsila will be operated by the vessel will be operated by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and is to be built at the C.N.P. Freire S.A. shipyard in Spain. According to the contract Wartsila will supply four of its 8-cylinder in-line Wärtsilä 20 main diesel electric generating sets, two main propulsion steerable thrusters, one bow retractable thrusters, and a complete Low Loss Concept diesel electric system.
Wärtsilä has considerable experience in meeting the demanding needs of specialty vessels, and is considered to be the market leader in supplying propulsion systems for research and naval ships with low underwater radiated noise (URN) requirements. Edward Cooper, the NERC’s Project Officer, said that they are delighted to co-operate with Wärtsilä, whose technology in this field is clearly very advanced. In particular, Wärtsilä’s underwater noise abatement measures are critical to the research work.
The new research ship will provide a state-of-the-art platform for researchers to address some of the world’s most pressing environmental issues. It will enable them to take measurements from the oceans that could lead to critical information regarding climate change, marine ecosystems, and underwater seismic activity. Paul Bennett Sales Manager Wärtsilä UK Ltd. told that the negotiations with the NERC will add extra advantage to the research ships.
