MAN Energy Solutions has won the contract to supply propeller equipment for the UK Ministry of Defence’s Type 31 General Purpose Frigates to be built by Babcock International Group
Each 138.7-m twin screw vessel, rated at more than 16,000-kW per shaftline, will be equipped with MAN’s Alpha VBS Mk 5 CP propeller systems and all related equipment. The propeller configuration will be designed and supplied from MAN’s production facilities at Frederikshavn, Denmark.
The new vessels will feature a combined diesel and diesel (CODAD) propulsion system, integrating four diesel engines (twin in – single out), two CP propellers and two asymmetric shaft lines. The installed power plant will have the capacity to produce a maximum power of more than 32,000kW.
The IMO Tier III-compliant propulsion system will ensure a low underwater-radiated noise signature and enable each vessel to attain a maximum speed in excess of 25 knots.
MAN sales manager Michael Muff Jensen said “From a propulsion perspective, we believe the preferred propeller solution is spot on when it comes to performance, efficiency and durability”.
The Arrowhead 140 design, the chosen vessel design for the Type 31 programme, is a general purpose, light frigate developed by Team 31 – a Babcock-led team which includes Thales Group, BMT and Odense Maritime Technology (OMT).
The design of the Type 31 is based on OMT’s Iver Huitfeldt-class hull form supplied for the Royal Danish Navy.
In all, five newbuild general purpose frigates will be built by Babcock International Group at Babcock’s Rosyth yard in Dunfermline, Scotland. The first Type 31 frigate is scheduled to be in the water in 2023.
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