Spanish Ferry Operator Seeks Competitive Edge With Wartsila Waterjets

The technology group Wärtsilä will supply its powerful waterjets for a new high speed ferry being built for Spanish company, Naviera Armas. The company faces strong competition in the local ferry market, and its choice of the Wärtsilä modular waterjet solution is seen as an effective means of meeting the competitive challenge. The vessel is being built at the Incat shipyard in Tasmania, Australia and the order with Wärtsilä was booked in August 2017.

This 109 metre long wave-piercing vessel will be the third Incat built high speed catamaran to join the Naviera Armas fleet. All three ships incorporate Wärtsilä waterjets. “The proven design of the Wärtsilä LJX 1500SRI waterjet encompasses high efficiency, excellent hydrodynamic performance, minimised noise and vibration, and less maintenance. Not surprisingly, therefore, it is rapidly becoming the waterjet of choice for owners and shipyards around the globe,” says Arto Lehtinen, Vice President, Propulsion, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.

“We have extensive experience with Wärtsilä waterjets and know that they can deliver the power and reliability demanded by the owners. The project is based on getting ferry customers to their destination in the most efficient manner and with the highest level of comfort and reliability. We are confident the Incat design and propulsion package incorporating Wärtsilä waterjets is the best choice to achieve this goal,” says Incat’s Tim Burnell.

The new ferry will commence operations in 2019 and the four Wärtsilä waterjets with a control system will be delivered to the yard in October 2018. Wärtsilä has worked closely with Incat for almost thirty years, and this is the second order placed by the yard with Wärtsilä this year. Altogether, 174 modular Wärtsilä waterjets have been delivered to Incat.