West Welding will design and manufacture LNG modules for AS Tallink Grupp’s new shuttle vessel MyStar. The shuttle will be similar to Tallink’s currently newest vessel Megastar. Once finished MyStar will operate on the Tallinn-Helsinki route.
West Welding works on the project with Norwegian Høglund Marine Solutions, supplier of integrated marine solutions for automation, gas and power, and Rauma Marine Constructions, who will carry out the manufacturing of the shuttle vessel. The new shuttle vessel is estimated to be completed by the end of 2021.
Captain Tarvi-Carlos Tuulik, Head of Ship Management at Tallink Grupp commented on the news: “Tallink Grupp is continuously looking for ways to bring innovative and green solutions both onto the Baltic Sea and to shipping in general. So, it is great to work with companies like West Welding and Høglund who also have innovation and environmentally friendly solutions at the heart of their business and together we can work towards achieving sustainable shipping goals.”
Janne Halonen, The CEO at West Welding comments on the project: “We’re really pleased to take on this project and continue utilizing our experience in LNG tanks. The order came in at a good time and we were able to move forward with the project on a quick schedule.”
LNG TANKS’ PRESSURE TESTS COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY
Thanks to the quick start in the design process, the project has proceeded in schedule. The manufacturing process has now passed the halfway mark as the pressure tests of the LNG tanks were completed last month. In the pressure test the tanks were filled with almost 400 m3 of water and pressure was lifted up to 15bar, which is about 1,5 times higher than the maximum operating pressure once the tanks are loaded with LNG.
Present at the pressure test was also Matti Jaakkola, the Senior Purchasing Manager at Rauma Marine Constructions who commented the project after the tests: “The technical and quality aspects of the fuel tanks meet our expectations and West Welding has been able to maintain the schedule of the project, which I’m very pleased about. The tanks passed the pressure tests, and everything moves ahead as previously planned.”
The tests were supervised by an authorised inspector from Bureau Veritas. Miika Kokko, Marine Surveyor at Bureau Veritas also shared his views on the collaboration: “The collaboration with West Welding has worked remarkably well. Our staff have been well informed about all the aspects and they’ve gotten all the correct information on time. The whole experience of working with West Welding has given me a very professional image of their operation.”
The project proceeds to next phase in schedule and West Welding will deliver the LNG modules in early autumn 2020.
Tallink Grupp
AS Tallink Grupp is one of the leading providers of passenger transport and cargo transport services in the northern part of the Baltic Sea region. The company owns 14 vessels and operates seven ferry routes under the brand names of Tallink and Silja Line. AS Tallink Grupp employs over 7,400 people in Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Russia and Germany. In 2019, Tallink Grupp provided services to 9.8 million travellers and transported approximately 380,000 freight units of goods.
Høglund Marine Solutions
Høglund Marine Solutions have since 1993 been providing advanced maritime solutions to the global maritime industry. As specialists in system integration they create automation, gas and power solutions for safe, reliable and efficient operations in any vessel type. Høglund handles both retrofit and newbuild projects, acting as true consultants at every stage of design, installation and operations. Høglund’s head office is located in Tønsberg (Norway).
Rauma Marine Constructions
Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) is a wholly Finnish-owned shipbuilding company formed in summer 2014 in Rauma. RMC specializes in building and servicing car and passenger ferries, multipurpose icebreakers and naval vessels.
