Wartsila Corporation has strengthened its presence within the Brazilian maritime industry by incorporating Wartsila Ship Design into Wartsila's Brazilian operations. A full range of local engineering services will now be available to shipowners, offshore operators and shipyards in Brazil.

Wartsila Ship Design in Brazil is an integrated part of the company's global ship design organization, which already has major hubs in Europe and Asia. Wartsila Ship Design in Brazil will generate new designs, ranging from low cost, standard vessels to high end, ground breaking tonnage for the most demanding applications.

Mr Arne Birkeland VP of ship design of Wartsila Ship Power said that "The Brazilian marine industry stands to benefit from our combination of local presence and global expertise, the possibility to execute all design contracts through Wärtsilä Brazil, and the experience and support generated by our ship design offices worldwide. It is our goal to establish Wärtsilä Ship Design in Brazil as an independent ship designer, one that will be the Brazilian customer's first choice."

He added that "Wartsila's long term ambition is to create proven designs with predefined solutions and operational services, along with performance guarantees and fixed prices. This can include comprehensive services to ship owners, such as shipyard selection, drawings approval, and new building supervision. To shipyards we offer detailed design and engineering support during the construction phase."