Rolls-Royce has unveiled the first of a new family of medium-speed engines for the marine market that will include versions powered by diesel and gas.
The new engines offer a 20 per cent increase in power per cylinder, while reducing fuel consumption, emissions, and through-life operating costs compared to existing engines in the Rolls-Royce Bergen range.
Developed over three years, the 20 per cent increase in power per cylinder, compared to the current B32:40-series engines, means the same power demand can be met with fewer cylinders.
This will give significantly lower maintenance costs and will be more compact where engine room space is at a premium.
Bergen Engines Program Director, Thor Humerfelt, said the company's overall design goal was to develop an engine that offered end users reduced life cycle costs, noting that engines were one of the largest contributors to a ship's operating and maintenance costs.
The B33:45 will follow a modular design for ease of production and maintenance. The in-line engine platform will consist of six-, seven-, eight- and nine-cylinder variants, spanning a power range from 3,600kW to 5,400KW.
Later, a V-engine range will be introduced with a wide range of incremental power for the marine and land-based power plant market. The diesel and the gas engines will share the same core design.
The engines are suited to numerous types of offshore vessels including anchor handlers, seismic, sub-sea construction vessels, semi-submersibles and drillships.
The design will also suit commercial vessels such as Ro-Pax ferries, cruise, cargo ships and fishing vessels.
The first B33:45 will be delivered to Norwegian customer Prestfjord Havfiske for a new Rolls-Royce-designed fishing vessel in June 2015.
