Rolls Royce has been awarded the contract to provide propulsion systems for the P71 – the Armed Forces of Malta’s new Offshore Patrol Vessel – which will be delivered in 2020.
According to the Naval News website, the 1,800-ton displacement, 74.8 metre, twin-screw vessel will feature a Rolls-Royce scope of supply that includes a pair of PROMAS controllable pitch propellers and rudders, SC722 FCP steering gear, a TT1300 bow thruster, a TT100 stern thruster, Fin Stabilisers, and a touch-screen remote control system that incorporates the novel CanMan Touch Joystick for all units.
Rolls-Royce will also be integrating the various operation modes of the hybrid Diesel-electric-propulsion modes via a power take-in (PTI) for lower patrolling speeds of up to 12 knots. This will ensure lower through-life operating costs, Naval News reports.
Lars Johansson, Rolls-Royce Area Sales Manager, Kamewa Naval Propellers, said: “This is a significant order from a long-standing customer of Rolls-Royce. Having supplied Cantiere Navale Vittoria with equipment for many of its smaller 40 metre patrol and coastguard vessels for which the yard is noted for, we are delighted to now assist the shipbuilder in meeting market demand for larger vessels. Vittoria intends to be a significant player in this market.”
“We are also delighted to further strengthen our cooperation with the Armed Forces of Malta, having assisted them over the years to maintain Kamewa water jets forming part of the propulsion system of two Search and Rescue launches.”
Luigi Chinappi, Cantiere Navale Vittoria Sales Director: “We specified the Rolls-Royce integrated systems package following an international tender. As the P71 has been designed to provide sustained, efficient operations for many years to come, the Rolls-Royce equipment will provide enhanced manoeuvrability capability to the vessel. The propulsion systems the company will supply provide enhanced positioning capability, allowing close-range manoeuvres.”
A key advantage to operations will be the portable Rolls-Royce CanMan Touch Joystick, which navigating officers can use to manoeuvre the ship remotely from the bridge wings in addition to conventional/independent propulsion controls. It is suitable for a wide range of vessels to control and monitor engines, fixed pitch and controllable pitch propellers and systems with multiple bow and stern tunnel thrusters, the website reports.
The P71 is designed to conduct border control operations in addition to other duties such as search and rescue, replenishment-at-sea and helicopter operations.
The ship-building contract was awarded to Cantiere Navale Vittoria on the 10 October 2018. Construction was planned to begin in the first quarter of 2019, and delivery of the OPV is planned for the second half of 2020.