Largest high-speed crew transport vessel is powered by mtu engines

Baku, Azerbaijan — 70 m long, the Muslim Magomayev catamaran is the biggest and fastest crew boat used in the oil and gas industry. It is powered by four mtu 16V Series 4000 M73L engines, each delivering 2,880 kW, that enable the vessel to reach speeds up to 40 knots (ca. 74 km/h). “That‘s a pretty amazing speed for a catamaran of this size being used in this application,“ said Matthew Reaume, project leader at mtu.
The Muslim Magomayev was built by Australian shipyard Incat Tasmania and completed at the end of September 2014, when it set sail in Tasmania, destined for the Shah Deniz gasfield via India, the Red Sea and the Bosporus. The Shah Deniz gas field is Azerbaijan‘s biggest gas field in the Caspian Sea with gas deposits at depths as low as 50 to 600 meters below sea level. This is where the vessel will be deployed to transport crews and freight up to the drilling platforms of Caspian Marine Service Ltd., based in Baku. „Gas used to be extracted in the shallower waters around Azerbaijan, but now you have to go further and further out to sea,“ explained Matthew Reaume. „That‘s why gas producers are increasingly relying on ships for transport to and from their drilling rigs,“ he said.
For dynamic positioning in heavy seas, the Muslim Magomayev incorporates special technology with access platform and gangway and has been built to withstand wind speeds up to 74 km/h and wave heights up to 3 m. Its specially designed hull also provides optimum travel comfort in high sea states. Able to accommodate 150 passengers and a14-strong crew, the Muslim Magomayev also has the carrying capacity for up to 200 tons of freight.