25th Mar 2015 12:56
LONDON (Alliance News) - Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC on Wednesday said it has secured a deal to supply six B33:45 medium-speed diesel generator sets to the Fuijan Mawei shipyard in China to be configured aboard the world's first seabed mining vessel.
The vessel, the first of its kind, was designed by SeaTech Solutions in Singapore on behalf of Marine Assets Corp, its Dubai-based owner. It will be used to extract high-grade copper, gold and silver from the seabed and will be used by Nautilus Minerals for the Solwara-1 project offshore Papua New Guinea.
Rolls-Royce did not provide any financial details on the deal, but said the contract is the first multiple-year order for the B33:45 engine since it was launched in September last year. Rolls will deliver the engines to the shipyard starting in March 2016. The order also includes three underwater mountable thrusters, two retractable Azimuth thrusters, and two bow thrusters.
"This contract is a major step forward in the development of our new family of medium-speed engines designed to suit a wide range of ship types. We are very proud that the B33:45 generator sets have been selected to power this pioneering ship, which will be at the forefront of a whole new chapter in underwater exploration," said John Knudsen, Rolls-Royce's Commercial Marine president.
"This order underlines a long and prosperous co-operation between Rolls-Royce, Fujian Mawei and MAC, who previously ordered five semi-submersible accommodation units and two accommodation vessels, all equipped with Rolls-Royce engines and propulsion," Knudsen added.
Shares in Rolls-Royce were down 1.0% to 979.50 pence on Wednesday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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