Search Results for: propulsion

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Spain using PSC fines as piggy bank?

With Spain facing the same sort of debt problems facing several other Eurozone economies, its Treasury has come under domestic criticism for pretty much going to any length to raise money. According

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Polarcus orders two advanced seismic ships

Dubai-based, Oslo-listed seismic vessel operator Polarcus has ordered two new high-end 3D seismic ships. Like the company’s exisiting existing POLARCUS ASIMA and POLARCUS ALIMA, they will be constructed to the X-bowed ULSTEIN

Consortium explores nuclear power for ships

Nuclear powered merchant ships could be sailing again sooner than many might suppose. That’s the view of Lloyd’s Register CEO Richard Sadler. The classification society is a member of a newly formed

New inland waterways clean ship concept

Called the “M-factor,” the vessel is powered by Volvo Penta marine diesel engines both for propulsion and for the bow thruster.

The ship is 85 meters long, 9.6 meter wide and has a load capacity of 1,500 tons, and is a relatively small ship with a very large cargo hold.

The size of the ship and its limited height enables it to sail in almost all European inland waterways. As it is mainly designed for the smaller channels and rivers it will use a 750 hp Volvo Penta D16-750 hp as propulsion engine. Usually this size of ship would be equipped with an engine producing at least 1,000 hp.

Mercurius has been searching for the most fuel efficient engine at part load. In this application, the engine will be operating at part load for at least 80-90 percent of running time.

On part load, the Volvo Penta D16 outperforms the competition in this power range and was thus selected as main propulsion engine.

To reduce emissions, the engine will be equipped with the STT Emtec SCR and POC filter system as a standard even though this is still not required by legislation. The SCR system cuts NOx by 70 to 90 percent and the POC filter reduces the PM by 40 percent.

The prototype will be built at Mercurius Shipping’s own shipyard in Begej and will be ready in May 2011. The plans are to build at least 4-6 ships yearly, depending on the success of this unit. A contract for the second ship has already been given to the Volvo Penta Center Terlouw in Rotterdam. It will deliver the main propulsion engine D16-750, Twin Disk gearbox TD-5170 and SCR system as a complete package to the Mercurius Shipping Group.

A Volvo Penta D12-400 will be installed as a thruster engine. The thruster will be delivered as a complete package including engine from the local manufacturer, Verhaar thruster systems.

 

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MTU Detroit Diesel opens new Gulf Coast center

The new facility is dedicated to the growth of engine sales in the commercial marine industry. The center also houses parts and serves as a logistics hub for MTU’s marine defense customers.

The nearly 8,000-square-foot facility is located in the St. James Industrial Park just west of New Orleans.

“MTU is one of the world’s major providers of diesel engines and propulsion systems for ships, ferries, tugs, river push boats and offshore supply vessels,” says Jeff Sherman, marine sales manager for MTU Detroit Diesel. “This new location puts us closer to both new and current customers in the Gulf of Mexico and Inland Rivers.”

The new facility is in addition to a network of 25 MTU distributors and a dedicated marine service center near Alameda, Calif.

MTU Detroit Diesels is a Tognum Group subsidiary. Its marine power solutions include the Series 60, Series 2000 and Series 4000 Iron Men engines, specifically designed to meet the unique demands of workboats.

For the higher power needs of commercial and military vessels such as the U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ship or U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutter, MTU offers its Series 8000 and Series 1163 engines. The MTU marine product line up covers a power range from 350 to 12,200 bhp. MTU also offers complete marine control systems.

Island Offshore orders LNG-fueled PSV’s

The vessels are scheduled for delivery in the second and third quarters of 2012. The hulls will be built at the Braila shipyard in Romania, and outfitted in Brevik, Norway. The total value of the contracts amounts to approximately NOK 900 million (about $143 million).

The vessels are of Rolls-Royce UT776 CDG design. Island Offshore has four UT776’s in service and two more under construction. The vessels just ordered at STX Offshore Norway will be the first for Island Offshore to be LNG-fueled and, in fact, the first LNG fueled UT vessels designed and powered by Rolls-Royce.

“We are extremely happy with the performance of these UT vessels, as are our clients,” said Island Offshore Managing Director Håvard Ulstein. “A very important area for Island Offshore is reduction in fuel consumption. With the UT 776, the favourable hull lines contribute to a very low consumption rate over a wide range of operating drafts. We believe that the most significant contribution to reducing emissions is to reduce fuel consumption for a given amount of work done. Going for LNG fuel is a logical step in reducing emissions even further.”

Rolls-Royce has worked for several years developing designs and systems for offshore vessels using LNG as fuel.

Rolls-Royce has developed a gas-electric diesel-electric propulsion system for the new vessel. The effective capacity of the gas tanks is about 200 cu.m, corresponding to 10-20 day operation on gas alone depending on the exact operational profile. The gas engines are two of the new C26:33 series from Rolls-Royce.

“Now that more gas infrastructure is in place, it is realistic for customers to select this fuel and these designs and systems” commented Atle Gaasø,Rolls-Royce’s General Manager Sales for offshore service vessels. “We are very happy to be working with Island Offshore, as they are a very forward-thinking company with a strong focus on efficiency and the environment, as they have already shown with their pioneering Rolls-Royce designed well intervention vessels.”

“The UT 776 type has seen continued development from order to order, with our newest vessels building upon the experience and lessons learned from our earlier ones. By choosing this design we have managed to maintain high levels of standardization, and continue the good cooperation on design and equipment we have with Rolls-Royce. The current design sets a standard that we think will do very well for the future,” added Håvard Ulstein.

The new UT776 CDG is 96 m long with a beam of 20 m, and will transport all normal offshore supplies. The ship will also be equipped for oil recovery. Deadweight is approximately 4,750 t

Roy Reite, President of STX Norway Offshore, says: “We appreciate the good relations we have with Island Offshore, and that this cooperation once again has led to the building of new vessels. We have in total been awarded more than thirty new building contracts with Island Offshore, and we look forward to continuing the good cooperation.”