WEG electric motors, generators, transformers, electrical switchboards and an automation system for energy management are all providing optimized operation on the first of a new generation of more fuel efficient cargo vessels built by Wilson Sons UltraTug Offshore, a joint venture between Wilson Sons and Magallane Navegação of São Paulo state in Brazil.
The PSV Petrel is equipped with diesel-electric propulsion, costing around $25m, and with a local build content approaching 60%, the vessel will operate for oil-major Petrobras, providing the capacity to transport up to 3,000 tons of cargo on each voyage.
The equipment package supplied by WEG for the PSV Petrel comprises propulsion motors of 1,500 kW each, two 600kW motors for the bow thrusters, four 1,100 kW generators coupled to the diesel groups that supply the vessel, and two dry transformers. All are connected to WEG electrical switchboards, where the energy and alarm management system ensures both optimized operation and maximized security.
The PSV Petrel underwent its naming ceremony in January of 2009 in Rio de Janeiro. The vessel is the latest in a long list of marine projects undertaken by WEG; a list that, most recently, includes Petrobras- 53, which is one of largest floating oil platforms (FPU) in the world. The P-53 platform relies heavily on WEG HV electric motors, inverters and generators for its continuous reliable operation in the worst of environmental conditions.