ABB to provide energy management system for new Viking Line ferry

Power and automation technology group ABB has won an order to provide an energy management system for one of the world’s most environmentally-friendly cruise ferries, which is due to be delivered to Viking Line in 2013. The ship is being built in Finland at the STX Yard in Turku.
The new cruise ferry, a 218m vessel with a top speed of 22 knots, will have the capacity to carry 2800 passengers and will serve the route connecting Turku, Finland, and Stockholm, Sweden. In line with Viking Line’s environmental commitments, the new generation ferry will use LNG as its fuel, which will be a first for a passenger vessel of this size. Through efficient use of this fuel, the ship will have extremely low emissions and virtually zero marine emissions.

Viking Line chose ABB’s energy management system for marine applications software EMMA to help manage energy-related processes, practices and decisions on the new ferry, to use fuel efficiently from the very first day of operation. The software compares and analyses the historical and current operational data of the vessel and then calculates and advises on areas of improvement with easy-to-understand displays. It also includes an extended energy management tool that models energy consumption and calculates optimal operating conditions, so that ships can perform at the highest possible fuel and energy efficiency.

“One of the top priorities at Viking Line is to lower the emissions and fuel consumption on our fleet. We were looking for a good monitoring tool that automatically regulated power consumption and was as easy to operate as a traffic light as a result ABB’s EMMA became our first choice,” said Kari Granberg, Project Manager at Viking Line Abp.

“We are committed to the development of cutting-edge technology for our marine customers so that they can meet their operational efficiency and environmental goals,” said Veli-Matti Reinikkala, head of ABB’s Process Automation division. “EMMA is a tool that draws on the successes of energy management systems in the process industries and applies them to the specific challenges faced by ship operators.”