Chinese satellite-tracking vessels to have MAN Diesel & Turbo propulsion packages

Two special transportation vessels being built by Jiangnan Shipyard, part of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation  Group, will feature complete twin-screw MAN Diesel & Turbo propulsion packages in the form of two 6L32/40 four-stroke engines, gear boxes, propellers and a propulsion control system. The vessels are being built for China Satellite Maritime Tracking and Controlling Department (CSMTCD), which is a part of the China Military General Armament Department and provides a vessel research and space-satellite tracking and controlling service.

The MAN 6L32/40 engines will be manufactured by Chinese licensee Zhenjiang CME Co. Ltd. (ZJ CME). Each engine will develop  3,000 kW at 750 rpm. The two engines aboard each vessel will be connected to type 41VO30 MAN Alpha AMG28 gear boxes, type VBS860 CP propellers with water-lubricated sterntubes, and the Alphatronic 2000 Propulsion Control System – supplied by MAN Diesel & Turbo, Frederikshavn (Denmark). Both vessels will be launched in January 2013 with delivery to CSMTCD scheduled for the following June. 

The project is the first where a Chinese MAN Diesel & Turbo licensee is acting as supplier for a complete propulsion system, including the propulsion train. To facilitate the integration and optimization of the propulsion system and project management, Frederikshavn will provide on-site support for the technical interface coordination, based on a cooperation agreement made with ZJ CME.

MAN Diesel & Turbo Frederikshavn plans to continue promoting this propulsion concept in the future to Chinese licensees and the Chinese market in general, with a view to increasing MAN Diesel & Turbo’s propeller market share.

Part of the CSSC Group, ZJ CME owes its origins to an asset reorganisation by Zhenjiang Marine Diesel Works and other enterprises of CSSC in 2001. Based in the city of Zhenjiang in Jiangsu Province, Eastern China, ZJ CME produces marine diesel engines, turbochargers, auxiliary marine machinery, lifting machinery, and marine propellers, among other industrial lines.

January 10, 2012