The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (IMR) and the University of Bergen (UiB) both needed a new research vessel. Joining forces and building a new large and state-of-the-art research vessel would enable them to strengthen their co-operation within marine research. The design specification of the new vessel called for extremely low internal and underwater noise levels and Wärtsilä was approached to meet these stringent requirements.

Wärtsilä solution
G.O. Sars is equipped with three Wärtsilä 6L32 generator sets, each developing an output of 2700 kw at 720 rpm. The diesel generator sets are mounted on a specially designed double raft system. Each diesel is isolated from its baseframe by resilient mounts in a 90-degree Vee-form configuration, and the baseframe is isolated from the ship’s foundation by means of T 3 resilient mounts. With its vibration- and noise-damped diesel generators, G.O. Sars is an extremely quiet vessel under way and it emits 99% less noise under water than conventional research vessels.