Premature Wear of the Water Jets of the HSC 'Francisco'

Premature wear of the axial water jets of the catamaran 'Francisco' for the time it has been in service has led to its docking at the Tandanor shipyard in Buenos Aires to make modifications to the systems with technical assistance from Wärtsilä personnel dispatched from Finland. Due to the limitations of the shipyard, the work is being carried out on the syncrolift platform. The fact that this vessel maintains a high speed of 50 knots has made it a testbed for some power systems.

Owned by Buquebús, the aforementioned vessel is an emblem of the connection between Buenos Aires and Montevideo, taking two and a half hours for the journey. It entered service in 2012, named in honor of Pope Francis, and is the first in the world powered by two General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines, each developing a power of 25 MW and capable of reaching a maximum speed of 58 knots.

Bow view of the catamaran 'Francisco'

Stern view of the catamaran 'Francisco', flagged in Uruguay

Photos: Raúl Tavernelli