Wärtsilä to provide engines for Italian LNG ferry

The Finnish technology group Wärtsilä has won a contract to provide engines, the fuel storage and supply system, for a new Italian ferry designed to operate on LNG.

Wärtsilä will provide both the ferry’s main and auxiliary engines.

The ferry is under construction at the Turkish Sefine shipyard. It was ordered by Caronte & Tourist Isole Minori, based in Milazzo, Italy.

The 109.98 metres long vessel will mainly operate between Milazzo in Sicily and the Aeolian islands.

The order with Wärtsilä was placed in the first quarter of 2021.

This order comprises two Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel main engines, two Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel auxiliary engines, two Wärtsilä Gas Valve Units, and a Wärtsilä LNGPac fuel storage, supply, and control system.

The equipment is scheduled for delivery to the yard in spring 2022, and the ferry is expected to be delivered in 2023.

“The flexibility of our dual-fuel technology is important for ferry operators because of the importance of redundancy. Should, for any reason, LNG be not available, the engine can switch to a conventional fuel in milliseconds, and the ferry schedule remains uninterrupted,” said Giammario Meloni, senior sales manager, Wärtsilä Marine Power.