Bussiness News

As Mr. Jamal Abki, General Manager of Grandweld noted, “Bourbon Offshore chose to power these BP100 Escort Tugs with MaK engines, and we believe they made the right choice.”  Middle East MaK marine dealer Unatrac worked directly with Grandweld throughout the engineering and application phases for 2x 9 M 25 propulsion engines, each producing 2,970 kW at 750 rpm - for nearly 6,000 kW of total power per vessel.  Through close coordination between Unatrac, Grandweld, and Kiel Engine Center – the MaK manufacturing facility in Kiel, Germany – the eight engines have been successfully delivered for each of the four tugs  – “Bourbon Yack”, “Bourbon Ox”, “Bourbon Auroch”, and finally “Bourbon Bison.” 

Along with sophisticated emergency response and navigation communication systems, the MaK engines on board were designed to ensure full compliance with IMO regulations.  Based on the proven reliability of the M 20, M 32, and M 43 engine lines, the M 25 was designed with efficiency in mind – by both increasing ease of maintenance and length of maintenance intervals, as well as reducing the environmental impact of emissions. 

In fact, for the escort tugs operating to and from tankers, the MaK M 25 engines provide superior fuel efficiency based on the current operating conditions.  Additionally, MaK engines were exclusively chosen based on their reliability and suitability in the harsh tropical climate throughout the Middle East and Africa.

Interestingly, the original customer request was for two ASD escort tugs designed with 4x MaK 9 M 25 engines.  However, during the engineering process, the choice was made to instead build four tugs and redistribute the eight MaK engines, which required a great deal of re-engineering by Grandweld, Unatrac, and Kiel Engine Center employees to ensure the proper application of the engines.

According to Mansour Wassef, Director for MaK Marine Sales at Unatrac, “The smooth and successful delivery of four tugs in such short time is a result of a reliable product, a professional shipyard, a clever owner, and the continuous support of the MaK team to Unatrac.”