By
Alex Smith |
Austal has ordered four 16V175D-MM engines from MAN Energy Solutions for Apetahi Express, a high-speed catamaran ferry currently under construction at its shipyard in Vietnam for the Degage Group.
The four engines will deliver 2,720 kilowatts at 1,800 revolutions per minute in water-jet propulsion, providing the ferry with a top speed of 35.8 knots and a range of 360 nautical miles.
“This is an important milestone for the MAN 175D as it wins the favour of yet another, high-speed ferry application, this time with the Degage Group, an acknowledged leader in commercial maritime transportation and tourism,” said Ben Andres, head of high-speed sales at MAN Energy Solutions. “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, has established a local hub in Auckland, New Zealand for servicing 175D engines, allowing it to provide maintenance and service support to the ferry when it begins sailing in French Polynesia.
“These will be the first MAN engines in our fleet,” says Tuanua Degage, president of Degage Group. “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.”
Apetahi Express is scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2023 and will operate between the islands of Tahiti and Bora Bora.