Lienchiang County Government of Taiwan ordres two 9L32/44CR four-stroke engines to power a inter-island new Ropax ferry.
The medium-speed engines will form part of a complete propulsion system delivered by MAN Diesel & Turbo that also includes reversible gearboxes, MAN Alpha twin-screw fixed-pitch propellers and a ship alarm system.
The 106-metre ferry will be built by Jade Shipbuilding, Kaohsiung, SW Taiwan and will travel six days a week between Keelung and the Matsu islands (an archipelago located close to the Chinese mainland).
Requirements for the propulsion system are:
• two 3,450-mm diameter, 4-blade, fixed-pitch propellers, selected among other reasons due to the positive experience of local operators
• high torque at part-load and fast load response to optimise manoeuvrability
• the lowest possible fuel consumption
• no visible soot emissions while manoeuvring in harbour
• the lowest possible overall emissions.
The fixed-pitch propeller transmits a power of 4,635 kW per engine and a water-lubricated stern tube arrangement was also selected to obtain the most environmentally friendly shafting solution.