A contract to provide diesel main propulsion engines for two new 35,000-dwt Falcon I tankers has been awarded to the Transamerica Delaval Inc. Engine and Compressor Division in Oakland, Calif. The announcement was made by Division general manager Clinton S. Mathews.
The two 666-foot vessels are being built by Bath Iron Works at Bath, Maine. They will be owned by Falcon I Sea Transport Company, Houston, and leased to the Military Sealift Command (MSC) in transporting fuels to government bases worldwide.
The Bath contract to Transamerica Delaval amounts to $14.5 million, for four "Enterprise" RV-16 diesel engines and associated reduction gears and auxiliary equipment. The 16-cylinder, medium-speed diesels, each rated at 7,360 bhp, are designed to operate on various fuels, including the more economical grades with viscosities of up to 3,500 Redwood sec. Deliveries of the engines will be completed this year.
The Transamerica Delaval Engine and Compressor Division produces diesels ranging to 13,500 bhp. Recently that product line was extended to 24,000 bhp — the highest medium-speed diesel rating in the world — with the signing of a U.S. manufacturing and marketing agreement with Stork-Werkspoor Diesel B.V. of Amsterdam. Under the agreement, Transamerica Delaval will exclusively offer in North America the Enterprise-SWD TM620.
Transamerica Delaval Inc. is the manufacturing subsidiary of Transamerica Corporation, San Francisco.
Similar to the two tankers for which Transamerica Delaval will provide main propulsion engines is this Falcon I-MSC vessel which entered service in 1975. Twin Delaval diesels power the original ships—a fleet of five. The two new tankers will be equipped with the same engines: Delaval "Enterprise" RV-16, medium-speed diesels. Each 16-cylinder unit is rated at 7,360 bhp.