Rolls-Royce MTU engines powered high-speed lifeboat prototype set new sea speed record from Monte Carlo to Venice

Westhampnett, UK, 02-Aug-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — The SAR 60, a new high-speed lifeboat prototype, has been hailed as ‘the fastest lifeboat in the world’ after completing the Round Italy record. The SAR 60 is powered by two MTU diesel engines, whichcan reach speeds of up to 60 knots. The engines are equipped with an additional ‘rough sea kit’, which enables safe operation in the most extreme conditions.

The new speed record between Montecarlo and Venice was set on 12 July, with a time of 22 hours, five minutes and 42 seconds, at an average speed of 52.3 knots for the nearly 1,120 nautical mile voyage. The 18 metre vessel, captained by Fabio Buzzi, is powered by two 1600HP MTU 10V 2000M94 engines and is designed for military missions, primarily rescue and maritime control. MTU technical experts were on board the boat throughout the journey, which included just one fuel stop. The record was officially verified and confirmed on 13 July. The brand MTU is part of Rolls-Royce Power Systems.

Fabio Buzzi, designer of the SAR 60, said: “We always try to test our boats to the limits before selling them to clients and this record attempt was our way of demonstrating the capabilities of this new lifeboat design.”

Stefano Gibelli, MTU Italia, Technical Director, commented: “The MTU 2000 engines performed perfectly from beginning to end, demonstrating again their superiority even for prolonged high-speed missions. Operating for 22 hours at full speed, with just one fuel stop, testifies the fuel efficiency of the engines,” said Gibelli.

This is the first time that a rescue vessel has attempted any long distance record. Previously all long distance records have been set by racing boats or boats specially built for the job.

Several countries plan to update their fleets of high-speed vessels for coastal control and rescue activity, for which this vessel is designed.

Press photos are available for download from www.mtu-online.com/press

About Rolls-Royce Holdings plc

  1. Rolls-Royce’s vision is to be the market-leader in high performance power systems where our engineering expertise, global reach and deep industry knowledge deliver outstanding customer relationships and solutions. We operate across five businesses: Civil Aerospace, Defence Aerospace, Marine, Nuclear and Power Systems.
  2. Rolls-Royce Power Systems is headquartered in Friedrichshafen in southern Germany and employs around 10,000 people. The product portfolio includes MTU-brand high-speed engines and propulsion systems for ships, power generation, heavy land, rail and defence vehicles and for the oil and gas industry. Under the MTU Onsite Energy brand, the company markets diesel gensets for emergency, base load and peak load applications as well as cogeneration plants using gas engines for the combined generation of heat and power. Bergen medium-speed engines power ships and power generation applications. L’Orange completes the portfolio with fuel injection systems for large engines.
  3. Rolls-Royce has customers in more than 120 countries, comprising more than 400 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces, 4,000 marine customers including 70 navies, and more than 5,000 power and nuclear customers.
  4. We have three common themes across all our businesses:
    • Investing in and developing engineering excellence
    • Driving a manufacturing and supply chain transformation which will embed operational excellence in lean, lower-cost facilities and processes
    • Leveraging our installed base, product knowledge and engineering capabilities to provide customers with outstanding service through which we can capture aftermarket value long into the future.
  5. Annual underlying revenue was £13.4 billion in 2015, around half of which came from the provision of aftermarket services. The firm and announced order book stood at £76.4 billion at the end of 2015.
  6. In 2015, Rolls-Royce invested £1.2 billion on research and development. We also support a global network of 31 University Technology Centres, which position Rolls-Royce engineers at the forefront of scientific research.
  7. Rolls-Royce employs over 50,000 people in more than 46 countries. Nearly 15,700 of these are engineers.
  8. The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to further developing employee skills. In 2015 we employed 228 graduates and 277 apprentices through our worldwide training programmes.

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SOURCE: Rolls-Royce plc

 

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Rolls-Royce MTU engines powered high-speed lifeboat prototype set new sea speed record from Monte Carlo to Venice

Rolls-Royce MTU engines powered high-speed lifeboat prototype set new sea speed record from Monte Carlo to Venice

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