New Caledonia bound ferry with dual Yanmars
Yanmar marine diesel engines have been used to power a Brisbane-built ferry destined for tourist work in New Caledonia.
Designed and built by Brisbane Ship Constructions (BSC), the tourist ferry is destined to operate on open seas in and around Lifou Island, New Caledonia. The routine run for the ferry is a six-hour return trip across open water with no refuelling en route. The ferry has a capacity to seat 100 passengers, 70 downstairs and 30 upstairs.
“Engine selection has been critical to the success of this vessel,” said Russell King, BSC project coordinator.
“We had to successfully marry a range of competing demands of the design and operation. The engines needed to be fuel efficient to run the six-hour round trip without refuelling, top speed needed to be no greater than 20kts and of course, reliability and ease of maintenance without special tools in these waters is paramount.
“Ultimately, we settled on a pair of the Yanmar 6HYM-ETE engines. They delivered on all counts, having the right power, the right weight and excellent fuel economy for the job.
“At BSC we have fitted plenty of Yanmar marine diesel engines to our boats over the years, so we are very comfortable and familiar with the Yanmar brand.
“We find the Yanmar engines easy to fit up and install, even when the engineroom in the cat hulls are pretty tight for room,” King said.
Operating under a French flag and built to Pacific Class regulations, the BSC ferry measures 19m LOA and has a beam of 8.0m. Fully laden with passengers she weighs 45 tonnes.
The cat hull design incorporates plate aluminium with 6mm bottom.
There is also a large skeg designed so that the boat can be beached if necessary, with the skegs ensuring that the props are fully protected.
In sea trials conducted on Moreton Bay prior to being delivered to the customer, the Yanmar-powered cat is claimed to have returned impressive performance and fuel data.
It was reported the optimum cruise speed was achieved at 1950rpm with the GPS showing a speed of 19kts, while fuel consumption at this level of operation was 70lt/h per engine. Yanmar distributor Power Equipment said the required maximum vessel speed of 19.6kts was achieved at a reduced and conservative engine speed of 2050rpm with the oversized ZF 500-1A transmissions spinning the props at 1043rpm via a reduction ratio of 1.964:1.
The distributor said Yanmar’s 6HYM-ETE model engine is a true blue workboat quality engine and includes the brand’s latest combustion chamber design named ASSIGN, a system originally pioneered by Yanmar on their large bore, low-speed propulsion engines. This technology, combined with Yanmar’s own mechanical fuel system, has enabled a fuel consumption specification of 201g/kW/h at 100 per cent load from the heavy-duty 368kW (500hp) model, a result which Power Equipment claimed is the envy of many other brands and is giving owners something to smile about in the current times of high fuel prices. The 6HYM-ETE offers an emission compliant IMO certified product with full classification to BV/ABS/LR/RINA and NK if required.
The 6HYM-ETE is an inline six-cylinder block that displaces 13.733 litres, with an induction system featuring a 24-valve cylinder head design with twin turbo chargers and can be specified with four power ratings between 303kW (412hp) at 1850rpm to 515kW (700hp) at 2200rpm, depending on the application and duty cycle proposed. All-up weight without a gearbox is 1385kg, said Power Equipment.
To keep the engineroom fully Yanmar powered, BSC fitted a pair of MASE 25kVa generator sets. With so many passengers on board for an extended period, often in hot and humid conditions, Power Equipment said the ferry operators decided to offer customers the convenience of on-board air-conditioning throughout the cabin, along with a galley service.
The dual MASE gensets are used to drive the five, 240V air-conditioning units on board, together with the fridges in the galley, deck-mounted freezer boxes for inter-island supplies, sound system and sundry electrical needs.
“We liked the idea of having a fully Yanmar powered engineroom,” said King. “It keeps everything very neat and tidy, and that’s the way we like to deliver our boats.”
Power Equipment is the exclusive and authorised Australian, PNG and South Pacific distributor of Yanmar Marine and Industrial diesel.
For further information, phone (03) 9709 8500, fax: (03) 9709 8544 or email:_power.equipment@yanmar.com.au
Photos: New Caledonia bound. The Brisbane Ship Constructions built ferry; The tourist ferry has a pair of the Yanmar 6HYM-ETE diesel engines; One of two MASE gensets for air-con, refrigeration, sound system and sundry electrical needs.