Manufacturer of natural gas, diesel 
and liquid biofuel engine-based power plants and complete propulsion systems Wärtsilä has been tasked with the operation and maintenance (O&M) of a power station for a Nigerian cement plant, owned by Lafarge Cement, for the next ten years  after its completion.

When operational, the power plant will increase the combined generating capacity supplied by Wärtsilä to Nigeria to about 
400 MW, says Wärtsilä Services regional sales manager for Africa Denis Pierchon.

The power plant, which is near the city of Ewekoro, 65 km north of Lagos, is under construction and is scheduled to be fully operational in January 2011. Six Wärtsilä 18V50DF engines, which can operate on either heavy fuel oil, light fuel oil or gas, will power the 100-MW plant that will supply electricity to a new cement works being built by Lafarge Cement. The plant will double the company’s capacity from two-million tons to over four-million tons of cement by 2011.

Pierchon says: “Wärtsilä has worked closely with the Lafarge group for several years and has supplied the company with other power plants in Nigeria and Bangladesh. Lafarge will benefit by having fixed budgeted costs for the running of the power plant throughout the contractual period.”

By outsourcing the operations and maintenance to Wärtsilä, he says, Lafarge can focus on its core business. The O&M contract, signed in September 2009, calls for Wärtsilä to undertake all aspects of operating and maintaining the on-site power plant, including 
labour, spare parts, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, administration, human resource services and training, technical support, logistics management and security.

“The fuel flexibility of the Wärtsilä engines is an important element in providing heavy industrial processes with a low-cost and 
reliable power supply,” adds Pierchon.

Power for South African Polar Supply and Research Vessel

Meanwhile, Wärtsilä has also signed a contract with Finnish shipbuilding company STX Finland to deliver four Wärtsilä 32 engines for a new South African polar supply and research vessel. The vessel is being built at STX Finland’s shipyard in Rauma, Finland. This is the single biggest trade agreement 
between the Finnish industry and South Africa, says Rauma shipyard director Timo Suistio.

“By providing reliable technology and the highest levels of quality and service, we 
believe that STX Finland will benefit in the future,” he says.

The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) owns the vessel, while South African marine services company Smit Amandla Marine will operate it. Its crew will be trained at the Wärtsilä Land and Sea Academy, in Turku, Finland.

Wärtsilä Ship Power business manager Jukka Paananen says: “As the vessel will be operating in extreme conditions, it will need to be very reliable. The vessel will also have to act as a tanker, because it will need to carry fuel oil for use at the Antarctic base. Every drop of fuel oil in the consumption chain will count. The Wärtsilä 32 engines offer both low rates of fuel consumption and low levels of emissions, which is important when operating in the Antarctic’s vulnerable natural 
environment.”

He explains that the construction of the vessel started in January and the vessel will launch in March 2012. Wärtsilä is scheduled to deliver four six-cylinder in-line Wärtsilä 32 engines in February 2011. The vessel will be about 134 m long and will accommodate 45 crew members and about 100 researchers and passengers.

The vessel is being built for research 
activities and expeditions, but, since it will be used to carry equipment and scientists working on the South African National Antarctic Programme, Paananen says, it will also have ice-breaking capabilities. Expeditions will take place during the Antarctic summer, which starts in late December and ends in early March. During the remainder of the year, the vessel will transport supplies for three research centres located on Antarctic islands.

As a mobile research facility, the new vessel will be equipped with a laboratory so that scientists can conduct marine research while on board. Weather data for meteorological institutes around the world will also be collected. Classified as a passenger ship, the new vessel will feature some of the facilities found on cruise ships, including comfortable passenger accommodation, a gym, a library and a small hospital. It will also have a shelter and landing area for two Puma-class helicopters.

Wärtsilä has worked closely with STX Finland for many years, says Paananen, and has a good relationship with the DEA. The new vessel will replace the Agulhas, the 
department’s previous expedition vessel, built in 1982 and equipped with Wärtsilä controllable pitch propellers. The DEA also owns a patrol vessel equipped with Wärtsilä main engines and propellers.

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