MITSUI ENGINEERING ORDERS JETS FOR JAPANESE FAST SHIP

MITSUI ENGINEERING ORDERS JETS FOR JAPANESE FAST SHIP    The shipbuilder Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding has ordered waterjets from the engine builder Rolls-Royce for the Japanese 38-knot Techno-Superliner project.
   The jets will propel the 700-passenger and cargo-carrying Techno-Superliner between Tokyo and the Ogasawara Islands, 1,000 kilometers south. The ship, which can carry 210 tons of cargo, is due to begin service in 2005.
   The waterjets will be built at the Rolls-Royce facilities in
Kristinehamn, Sweden, and delivered to Mitsui in 2004.
   Rolls-Royce said that it has developed “the world’s most powerful waterjets.” Two Rolls-Royce Kamewa VLWJ235 waterjets will absorb 27 megawatts power, 8 percent more than currently available worldwide.
   The 14,500 gross-registered-ton Techno-Superliner will be constructed from aluminium and will be 140 meters long, with a breadth of 29.8 meters. The ship will be owned by Techno-Seaways, a consortium of Japanese companies, and chartered by the Tokyo-based operator Ogasawara Kaiun.
   Rolls-Royce was also linked to the FastShip transatlantic project, now dormant. Rolls-Royce was due to provide engines for the ships, under a design that would allow them to carry a 10,000-ton payload between Philadelphia and Cherbourg at speeds of up to 40 knots.