Austal’s new Passenger Express 66, a excessive pace catamaran ferry to be constructed by Austal Vietnam for the Degage Group of French Polynesia. [Image: Austal Limited]
The excessive pace catamaran ferry beneath building at Austal Vietnam for a French Polynesian operator might be powered by MAN 175D engines.
The 66-meter, 574-passenger ferry is scheduled for supply within the first half of 2023 and can function because the Apetahi Express between Pape’ete (Tahiti) and Vaitape (Bora Bora) in French Polynesia. The new ferry could have a contracted prime pace of 35.8 knots and a variety of 360 nautical miles.
The Austal shipyard in Vietnam has positioned an order with MAN Energy Solutions for 4 16V175D-MM engines, delivering 2,720 kW at 1,800 rpm to energy the water-jet propelled vessel.
The excessive pace cat is on order for the Degage Group, whose president, Tuanua Degage, mentioned: “These will be the first MAN engines in our fleet. We are very much looking forward to working with MAN Energy Solutions, and in particular the MAN PrimeServ New Zealand team, to ensure the highest levels of engine relaiblity and economy on this very demanding route.”
Ben Andres, head of high-speed gross sales at MAN Energy Solutions, mentioned: “This is an important milestone for the MAN 175D as it wins the favor of yet another, high-speed ferry application, this time with the Degage Group, an acknowledged leader in commercial maritime transportation and tourism. The 175D has a number of advantages that make it eminently suitable for such a technically demanding application, including its long times-between-overhaul, and its best-in-class fuel consumption.”
MAN PrimeServ, MAN Energy Solutions’ after-sales division, reviews that it has already established service competence within the area in Auckland, the place its native hub providers 175D engines in operation on the New Zealand Navy. The identical hub is situated conveniently for upkeep and repair help of the brand new excessive pace cat in Tahiti.
The MAN 175D engine has an a variety of benefits that make it appropriate for HSC (High-Speed Craft) operation, together with:
- very lengthy TBOs for demanding ferry operation with steady excessive common load,
- best gasoline consumption within the 2,720 kW energy vary,
- lowest working prices at school.
It can be a particularly eco-friendly engine, being designed from the outset with compliance to the most recent, in addition to future, exhaust-gas-emission necessities and makes use of a really compact and versatile SCR system, which permits vessel designers to optimize house on board to the utmost.
