Volvo Penta Gives Kuwaiti Workboats A Boost

Volvo Penta recently equipped two Kuwaiti workboats, a pilot boat and a buoy layer, with twin 34-liter diesel engines. Both vessels, which have been laid-up since the invasion by Iraq in the beginning of the 1990s, are now in service in the Kuwait City harbor. The rebuilt boats, M/V Muwasalat and M/V Mursheed, are owned by the Kuwait Port Authority and are operated by Naseb Maritime Company. Direct from the start, the demands placed on the work and material were high. M/V Muwasalat is a 300-ton buoy layer equipped with a 25-ton bow crane. The ship was built in 1977 at a Japanese shipyard and was originally equipped with two MTU 8V396 diesel engines, each with 680 hp. Until the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the vessel served as a buoy layer and maintenance ship. Thereafter, the ship in principle has been laid up until on a commission from the Kuwait Port Authority it has now been refurbished and again placed in operation. Two Volvo Penta D34s, each at 634 kW, were selected as the new propulsion system for the ship. Combined with two Voith Schneider units, they propel the 300-ton ship at a speed of 12 knots. A fire pump is located on the front of the port engine, while the starboard engine is linked to an axle generator. The control system is a Rudolf 1, with slave panels on the bridge. M/V Mursheed is a 70-ton pilot boat that operated in the Kuwait City harbor until 1990. The vessel’s original propulsion machinery was replaced with two Volvo Penta D34s, each with 701 kW, connected to two ZF1900A transmissions with 2.0:1 gearing. Combined, they power the pilot boat at a speed of 18 knots.