Wärtsilä granted Lloyd's Register type approval certificate

The WTT11 tunnel thruster is part of Wärtsilä’s new portfolio of thruster solutions. The WTT11 has obtained an LR type approval certificate after passing the final step of the Lloyd's Register (LRS) classification society's type approval process.

The factory audit is comprehensive and very demanding

The final step of approval is a factory audit. This production quality assurance was carried out on 15 May 2015 at the location where the thrusters will be produced, namely the company's dedicated manufacturing facility in Wuxi, China. This is the first time that a Chinese producer of thrusters has been part of a Type Approval Certificate by LRS.

Alongside this, it is also the first time that a complete tunnel thruster has been awarded an LR type approval certificate. The first step towards approval was design review (plan approval) in which the design was assessed as to its compliance with LRS’s technical requirements. The design review of the WTT11 covers the entire thruster system and its options, not merely the components, and is applicable to the thrusters in Wärtsilä’s new portfolio. The design review was approved in December 2014.

This type approval means that the thruster will not have to undergo a design review for each individual vessel or hull number and so, Wärtsilä hopes that this certification will deliver significant cost savings and considerably reduced production time. Moreover, the approval ensures that the WTT11 conforms to recognised industry standards.

Comment from Wärtsilä Ship Power

"The factory audit is comprehensive and very demanding and we are delighted that the Wuxi factory has passed the audit for the new WTT portfolio with flying colours. We are also proud of the fact that the Wuxi plant is the first producer of type approved thrusters in China to have been certified by Lloyd's Register," says Arto Lehtinen, Vice President of Propulsion at Wärtsilä Ship Power.

Lloyd's Register congratulates Wärtsilä

"Lloyd's Register congratulates Wärtsilä on being awarded LR type approval for the Wärtsilä WTT11. With our new type approval procedure we were able to work together with Wärtsilä in tailoring the type approval certificate exactly to the requirements outlined at the start of the entire process," says Flans Kemp, Lloyd's Register's Global Business Development Leader for Type Approval.

Edited from source by Elizabeth Corner

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/equipment-and-safety/01072015/lloyds-register-type-approval-certificate/