Long Beach fireboats to have Voith Schneider propellers

AUGUST 9, 2013 — Voith GmbH reports that two powerful new fireboats designed by Robert Allan Ltd. for the Port of Long Beach, CA, will have Voith Schneider propellers and turbo couplings.

With a water pumping capacity of more than 40,000 gallons per minute they will be among the world’s most powerful fireboats.

The vessels are currently being built by the Foss Maritime shipyard in Seattle. Deliveries to the Long Beach port authority are scheduled for spring and fall 2014 respectively.

Both vessels have an overall length of approx. 108 feet, a beam of 35 feet and a draft of 14 feet. They are designed for an operating speed of 13 knots.

The design is based on the Voith Water Tractor principle and has proven its worth in the Port of Los Angeles. The fireboats will be equipped with two Voith Schneider Propellers VSP 26GII/165 AE45 each in the forward half of the vessel. The relatively short VSP blade length of 5.4 feet makes it possible for the fireboats to enter shallow areas of the port without compromising maneuvering safety. The vessels can therefore also support onshore firefighting.

For each fireboat, the Voith scope of supply includes not only two VSPs but also two 866 DTL Voith turbo couplings as well as a twin control stand unit positioned in the wheelhouse so that the captain and crew benefit from a 360 degree panoramic view.

Two diesel engines, each developing 1,350 kW, drive the VSPs.

Two of the total of four fire pumps are driven by the diesel engines which supply propulsion power to the VSPs. When fighting a fire, the VSP propulsion power is limited to approximately 25%; the remaining 75% is available to the fire pumps as pumping power.

This allows the fireboats to be positioned fuel-efficiently using the VSP while at the same time increasing the vessels’ pumping power without requiring additional engines. As the VSP pitch can be altered, the fireboats can operate efficiently and safely under all operating conditions.