A Chinese tug builder has contracted an engine manufacturer to supply high-speed, four-stroke engines for vessels it is building for Svitzer
Cheoy Lee Shipyards has ordered diesel engines from MAN Energy Solutions for a set of TRAnsverse harbour tugs it is building for Svitzer. The Hong Kong-headquartered company builds tugboats at the Hin Lee Shipyard in Zhuhai, China.
Its latest contract with the Copenhagen, Denmark-headquartered owner is for four harbour tugs of TRAnsverse 2900 design, which Svitzer developed in partnership with Robert Allan Ltd, featuring combined power of 4,800 kW.
For these newbuilds, Cheoy Lee contracted MAN to deliver eight 175D-MM marine propulsion engines with 12 cylinders in V formation, two for each tugboat. These high-speed, four-stroke engines, rated at 2,400 kW each, will be manufactured in Frederikshavn, Denmark and be delivered to the shipyard during 2025.
MAN Energy Solutions head of high speed, Florian Keiler, said there are “benefits to having powerful 12-cylinder propulsion engines for harbour tugs”.
Mr Keiler said MAN 175D is “ideally suited to such a demanding applications where customers view its compactness, performance and operational cost benefits as key features.”
He added the 175D is an “eco-friendly engine, having been designed from the outset for low fuel consumption”.
These engines can be coupled with the latest exhaust-gas aftertreatment units to comply with the latest marine emissions standards and is cleared for operation on biofuels, such as fatty acid methyl esters and hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Cheoy Lee is expected to deliver these four TRAnsverse tugs to Svitzer between Q3 2025 and mid-2026, to be integrated into Svitzer’s global fleet.
These 29-m tugs are expected to have a bollard pull of up to 80 tonnes, a top speed of 13 knots, and a side-stepping speed of 8 knots.
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