IDIOMA

Almirante Viel selects Wabtec IMO Tier III

Maiden Voyage of “Almirante Viel”
On January 9th, the Chilean icebreaker “AGB-46 Almirante Viel” left Punta Arenas for its first mission to Antarctica.  The vessel was built at the ASMAR shipyard in Talcahuano, Chile, according to a VARD Canada design. The “Almirante Viel” is the largest ship built at ASMAR and the only icebreaker of this kind built in Latin America.

Chile has a total of 7 bases on the continent and nearby islands, 3 of these are manned year-round. The icebreaker is built as a multi-mission vessel to resupply these bases. She can also fulfill other roles including search & rescue, scientific and oceanographic tasks. For the logistic tasks, the ship can transport 19 containers and has 400 m3 of space for palletized cargo. The vessel is also equipped with 2,300 m3 tanks to deliver aviation and diesel fuel to the bases in the south. Apart from boats capable of transporting supplies, the icebreaker also brings two HH-32 Super Puma in its hangar. The helicopters are used to transport personnel and supplies if the ice condition is such that the offloading area cannot be reached from sea.

The vessel has a length overall of 111 m, a breadth of 21 m, and a design draft of 7.2 m. She has diesel-electric propulsion consisting of 2 x Wabtec 16V250MDC and 2 x 6L250MDC engines – totaling 20.7 MW. The electric system and electrical integration were supplied by GE Power Conversion. The propulsion consists of two 4.5 MW electric motors.

The Chilean navy selected the Wabtec IMO Tier III engines, mainly because these engines are the only marine diesel engines fulfilling the strictest emission rules, without the use of Urea-based SCR technology. Marinsa provided support for the commissioning of the vessel as well as future maintenance.

Marinsa wishes “Almirante Viel” success on her first trip down to the white continent!

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