(HELSINKI) — The technology group Wartsila and Norwegian Wilhelmsen Ship Management, a Wilhelmsen group company, have signed a five-year agreement covering the maintenance of exhaust gas cleaning systems installed in three vessels managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management. The agreement ensures that the vessels are fully MARPOL compliant and can fulfil the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) new, stricter sulfur limits, coming into force on Jan. 1, 2020.
All three vessels have a 25-MW Wartsila hybrid scrubber system, which has the flexibility to operate in both open and closed loop, using seawater to remove SOx from the exhaust gas. In closed loop mode additional reagent is used in combination with sea water.
The agreement between Wartsila and Wilhelmsen Ship Management was signed in December 2017. The services covered under this agreement include annual audits and safety tests to ensure ongoing MARPOL compliance, calibration of the Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS) and water monitoring system as well as operational training courses for the vessels’ crew.
“For Wilhelmsen Ship Management, operating sustainably and maintaining MARPOL compliance is absolutely crucial. This agreement with Wartsila ensures that we are doing it in a correct and documented way to fulfil authorities’ requirements. Additionally, it allows us to perform long term cost predictability and channel more focus into critical ship management operations,” said Jon Helge Ulstein, vessel manager at Wilhelmsen Ship Management.
Wilhelmsen Ship Management is one of the world’s largest third-party ship managers with a portfolio of more than 450 vessels and 9,200 active seafarers. Wilhelmsen Ship Management manages its portfolio from five offices worldwide and has a crewing network of 18 manning offices in 12 countries.
The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) is the main international convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes. As defined in IMO’s regulations, the global limit for sulfur in fuel oil used by ships will be reduced from the current 3.5 percent m/m (mass by mass) to only 0.5 percent m/m on and after Jan. 1, 2020.
