Wärtsilä is to supply the engines for a new Canadian Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker, which is being designed and built at Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards and will be the flagship of the Canadian Coast Guard’s icebreaking fleet.
Because of the long operational range required for the vessel’s employment in Arctic waters, fuel efficiency was a prime design consideration in the selection of the Wärtsilä 31 engine.
The 158m multi-mission Polar Icebreaker will operate under PC2 conditions with four 16-cylinder and two 8-cylinder Wärtsilä 31 engines, delivering 47MW of power. The engines will be fitted with SCR systems for IMO Tier III environmental compliance. Wärtsilä will supply the centre shaft line with a stainless-steel ice-class propeller, as well as Wärtsilä’s NACOS Platinum navigation system.
Leo Martin, SVP Programs, Seaspan Shipyards said: “Wärtsilä has a fine track record and years of experience in delivering high-class marine technologies including recently delivering the propulsion equipment for the Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels (OFSV), plus the diesel generator sets for the Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV) built at Seaspan for the Canadian Coast Guard.”
Simon Riddle, GM Naval Sales, Wärtsilä added: “The fuel efficiency of the Wärtsilä 31 engine was a determining factor in the award of this prestigious contract. However, equally important was our project delivery experience and service support across Canada. Furthermore, our previous cooperation with both the Canadian Coast Guard and Seaspan has been very successful, and we are honoured to be again working with them.”
The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled to be delivered to the yard in 2025. When built, the new vessel will be the Canadian Coast Guard’s largest icebreaker and will replace CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent, which is due to retire at the end of the decade after 60 years of service. Seaspan Shipyards is known as a builder of high technology ice class vessels.
Image: The ship is being designed and built at Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards and will be the flagship of the Canadian Coast Guard’s icebreaking fleet (credit: Seaspan Shipyards)
