Rolls-Royce clinch FastShip deal

Rolls-Royce has reached a $1 billion agreement to supply 25 marine Trent gas turbines to FastShip for propulsion of the operator?s high speed container ships. Rated at 47.5MW (64,580 bhp), the turbines will be used in simple cycle, giving fuel consumption of 204 g/kWh and service speeds up to 40 knots.

The turbines will operate at between 500 and 3,600 rev/min and will each drive a Kamewa water jet with a 4.5m impeller at 200 rev/min via a reduction gearbox. NOx production from the 26t engine has yet to be verified when burning MDO.

Rolls-Royce?s plant in Montreal, Canada, will build the turbines and will also maintain the engines for 20 years at a cost of around $4.8/MWh including all parts and labour. Deliveries are expected to commence in the last quarter of 2001 with sea trials of first of the 1,432 TEU ships is expected in 2002.