MTU propulsion for high-speed cat

The company will supply four 20-cylinder Series 8000 engines and four 8V 2000 gensets from MTU for delivery to Virtu Ferries’ new RoPax ferry being built at Australian shipyard, Incat Tasmania.

Francis Portelli, ‎managing director at parent company Virtu Holdings Limited, said: “We already have three ferries with MTU propulsion. These engines are light in weight and we’re very satisfied with them and especially with the after-sales support so MTU was naturally our choice for our new ferry.”

Knut Müller, head of marine and defence business at MTU, said: “We’re delighted that Virtu Ferries has again chosen MTU, particularly since this is the first time we’re supplying Incat with our biggest engine – the Series 8000.”

“Our past cooperation on the delivery of Series 4000 units was very successful.”

Besides the four 9,100-kW engines, MTU will also be delivering four 8V 2000 M51A gensets for the vessel.

When completed, the high-speed cat will operate on Virtu Ferries’ Malta-Sicily service which operates daily throughout the year.

After completion, the vessel will measure in 110m in length and will be able to accommodate 900 passengers plus crew and 167 vehicles.

The keel-laying for the new vessel is planned for June 2017, while the engines are scheduled for delivery to Incat in the second half of 2018.

Over 250 MTU Series 8000 engines have been to the market so far meaning that the series has clocked up over 1.4 million operating hours on ferries, yachts and naval vessels in total.

By Anne-Marie Causer