seatec - Finnish marine technology review 1/2007 | Page 28

Vacons control electric propulsion on M/S EVA 316 M/S EVA 316 CONVERTED INTO A VESSEL CAPABLE OF OIL COLLECTION IN ICY CONDITIONS M/S EVA 316 will be the world’s second vessel capable of oil collecting in icy conditions. Just like its sister vessel M/S Seili, M/S EVA 136 has undergone a major re-modelling process, now equipped for ice breaking and oil combatting. During the re-modelling process the vessel was also fitted with Vacon liquid-cooled main propulsion drives. D ynamic positioning in icy conditions requires a lot of power. Therefore, diesel-electric propulsion as an energyefficient solution was an excellent choice for EVA 316. In diesel-electric propulsion, energy savings are achieved e.g. by AC drives which control the speed of the motors. Additionally, AC drives improve reliability and enable optimum design of propellers to secure an ideal output ef- fect. Vacon’s configuration of the drives also allows certain degree of redundancy. Scandinavian Electric Systems* in Norway was responsible for system integration and delivery of cabinets. Sea trial tests on M/S EVA 316 were carried out in mid-February 2006 in the Gulf of Finland, and the test results were encouraging. With the Pärnu Bay as its operation area, M/S EVA 316 will consider- ably enhance oil spill response readiness in the eastern Gulf of Finland. REGENERATIVE LIQUID-COOLED DRIVES SAVE SPACE AND ENERGY The owner, Estonian Maritime Admistration, chose Vacon’s regenerative liquidcooled drives as they require only a small space for assembly and no additional filters are needed onboard to meet ap- M/S EVA 316 TECHNICAL DATA Length: 58.2 Water line length: 52.25 Beam: 12.2 Draught: 3.8 Tanks for collected spill oil: 2 x 98 m3 Engine power: 3 x 1600 kW Number of cabins: 17 Maximum number of crew: 25 M/S EVA 316 is now powered by Vacon’s regenerative liquid-cooled main propulsion drives. 26 seatec 2007