Latin America’s First Hybrid Vessel Upgrade Project

The technology group Wärtsilä and CBO, one of Brazil’s leading operators of offshore support vessels,  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 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.

By combining its competences in marine electrical, automation and engine technologies, Wärtsilä has brought together multiple functions and systems to deliver a single integrated hybrid power module that combines engines, an energy storage system, and power electronics optimised by a unique and highly sophisticated energy management system (EMS). The EMS functions as the ‘brain’ in the Wärtsilä Hybrid System. It optimises the energy flows between the different power sources, storage, and consumers to achieve the highest efficiency possible.
  • ESTABLISHED:
  • 2020
  • HEADQUARTERS:
  • Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
  • KEY PERSON:
  • Marcelo Martins, Technical and Commercial Director at CBO