Engine manufacturing giant MAN Diesel & Turbo has secured a big order from the US Navy, who is modernizing its tanker fleet.
17 new ships will get the Fairbanks Morse MAN 12V48/60CR engine installed as main propulsion. They will replace older units, as the US Navy begins plan[ds_preview]s to phase out its existing tanker fleet. Known colloquially as ‘oilers’, the aging fleet of 15 tankers is used to transfer fuel from coastal ports to naval vessels at sea.
Lex Nijsen, Head of Four-Stroke Marine, MAN Diesel & Turbo, said: »The U.S. Navy knows our 48/60 engine very well, especially our L48/60A variant, and this played a key role in Fairbanks Morse winning this contract. The 48/60CR is the next generation of this proven engine with a further optimised performance featuring improved fuel-efficiency, reduced emissions and increased reliability.«
In studying the replacement of the existing tankers, the U.S. Defense Department carried out detailed design studies with specific shipyards capable of building the new tanker class. The FM-MAN 48/60CR engine was chosen on the basis of the set programme goals of energy efficiency, equipment reliability and cargo-handling efficiency, Nijsen said.
He added, »This new order comes just two months after the US Coast Guard [USGC] selected multiple FM-MAN 28/33D STC engines for its Offshore Patrol Cutter Programme. The Navy and Governmental segment is very important to us, and none more so than that of the United States.«
MAN Diesel & Turbo has a collaboration with American partner and licensee Fairbanks Morse, which will manufacture the engines. Delivery of the first tanker is set for 2020. Each of the current TAO vessels has two Fairbanks Morse Colt-Pielstick (MAN Diesel & Turbo) 10-cylinder PC4.2 engines as main propulsion.
