Wärtsilä will supply future-fuel ready engines for four new 7999-DWT chemical tankers being built for Swedish fleet owner Erik Thun. The ships will be constructed at the Ferus Smit shipyard in the Netherlands.

The vessels will operate with the Wärtsilä 25 engine, the future-fuels ready latest addition to the company’s engine portfolio. The order with Wärtsilä was booked as order intake in Q1 2023.

The medium-speed 4-stroke Wärtsilä 25 features the most advanced engine technology. This enables operators to be ahead of the curve in future-proofing their fleets in readiness for fully decarbonised operations. Furthermore, the Wärtsilä 25 features good fuel economy, low emissions, and smoke-free operation at all loads. The engine is capable of being converted to run on alternative fuels.

‘Decarbonisation is a key driver for our operations. It makes total sense, therefore, for us to select the Wärtsilä 25 engine,’ says Henrik Källsson, deputy managing director of Erik Thun. ‘We recognise the reliability, fuel efficiency, and compact design of the engine, and the option to operate with clean future fuels is very important to us.’

Also read: Erik Thun orders eight new vessels at Ferus Smit

Over 100 engines for Ferus Smit

This latest order will raise the number of Wärtsilä engines installed in ships built at the Ferus Smit shipyard to more than 100. Simultaneous to this contract, an order was also signed for a Wärtsilä 20 engine for Erik Thun. This is a repeat order from an earlier project.

The Wärtsilä equipment will be delivered to the yard commencing in Q4 2024, and the first of the four ships is scheduled for delivery in mid-2025.

Picture: The R-class sisters will be built by Scheepswerf Ferus Smit BV in the Netherlands with delivery from 2024 and onwards. The vessels will operate with the Wärtsilä 25 engines. The orders for newbuild are part of the company’s fleet renewal programme. A visualisation of the Resource efficiency class-vessel in the Kiel Canal (by Erik Thun).

Also read: Wärtsilä to deliver its first CCS-Ready scrubber systems