The technology group Wärtsilä and CBO, one of Brazil’s leading operators of offshore support vessels, have recently signed an agreement to convert a vessel from CBO’s fleet to operate with hybrid propulsion. The ‘CBO Flamengo’ will be the first vessel in Latin America to be fitted with a battery pack for hybrid propulsion, which will improve the vessel’s energy consumption and reduce its carbon footprint. The order with Wärtsilä was placed in October 2020.
The Wärtsilä Hybrid Solution to be installed on the ‘CBO Flamengo’, a platform supply vessel (PSV), complies with the DNV-GL’s ‘Battery Power’ class notation, allowing the ship’s engines to run more efficiently by operating safely with fewer engines at a higher load. The hybrid system will provide redundancy power and reduce intermittent load increases (peak shaving), thereby saving fuel and reducing exhaust emission levels. Furthermore, because the engines will operate for fewer running hours, maintenance requirements and costs will be reduced.
“CBO is always interested in new technologies and innovation is in our DNA. We seek less fossil fuel consumption and this, aligned with our ESG (environmental and social governance) initiatives, makes the decision to install batteries in our vessels a natural path. CBO will offer more efficient operation to our clients, and this will be the first step of more to come. Wärtsilä is a leader in innovation and has extensive know-how in hybrid battery systems for ships, so we are pleased to join forces with Wärtsilä to implement new technologies into CBO’s fleet,” says Marcelo Martins, Technical and Commercial Director at CBO…
