The first two pre-production units of a Rolls-Royce mobile MTU gas engine for Rederij Doeksen have completed performance tests. The engines, which will be used for Rederij Doeksen’s Wadden Sea ferries service in The Netherlands, have completed over 5,000 hours on the test bench.
Paul Melles, managing director of Rederij Doeksen, said: “We are very happy with the test run. All the key engine parameters, such as the extremely dynamic acceleration behaviour, have now been verified by MTU.”
MTU, a subsidiary of Rolls Royce, delivered the engines. They form part of an order for four 16-cylinder Series 4000 gas engines, each with an output of 1,492kW, for two new aluminium catamarans currently being built by Strategic Marine’s shipyard in Vietnam.
The catamarans will operate ferry services on the Dutch Wadden Sea from 2018.
Testing, carried out by Rederij Doeksen, Strategic Marine and Lloyd’s Register, involved verifying the performance data, the fuel consumption and the engine’s safety features, such as the emergency stop.
IMO compliance
The emission measurements demonstrated compliance with IMO III emission standards with no additional exhaust gas aftertreatment.
Mr Melles added: “We decided in favour of a gas propulsion system, because we will be operating our ferries on the Wadden Sea, a World Heritage Site that has been declared a particularly sensitive area worthy of protection. MTU, with the appropriate pure gas engine, is the right partner for us.”
The 16-cylinder gas engine will be available next year as a certified series production engine covering a power range from around 1,500-2,000kW. An 8-cylinder version will follow with a rated output of approximately 750-1,000kW.
