Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply the engines and exhaust gas cleaning systems for SunStone’s expedition newbuild under construction at China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Co shipyard in China.

There are options for an additional nine vessels, the company said.

The contract with Wärtsilä was placed by Ulstein Design and Solutions of Norway, the company responsible for delivering the design and equipment package to the yard. The order was booked in June 2017.

The full Wärtsilä scope of supply comprises two 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 20 engines fitted with the Wärtsilä NOR (NOx Reducer) exhaust gas cleaning system, and two 8-cylinder Wärtsilä 20 engines. The Wärtsilä NOR is based on SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) technology. The system is compliant with various NOx (Nitrogen Oxides) emission reduction needs, such as the IMO Tier III rules.

“We are delighted to be cooperating with the Ulstein company in this newbuild project. The Wärtsilä 20 engine is a very good product fit for this vessel, while the NOR system is optimised and validated for all our medium speed engines in terms of reliability, flexibility and size,” noted Cato Esperø, Sales Director, Wärtsilä Norway.

“Reliability and performance are important criteria for cruise vessels since they are mostly operating to strict schedules. At the same time, environmental sustainability is today an essential element in the cruise sector. Wärtsilä’s reputation speaks for itself in all these areas,” said Ove Dimmen, Sales manager, Ulstein Design & Solutions AS.

The Wärtsilä equipment will be delivered to the yard in January 2018, and the ship is expected to begin operations in September 2019.