Rolls-Royce and Zhenjiang Shipyard to jointly promote tugs and workboats with mtu engines

• Focus on jointly promoting the development of tugboats with mtu engines in China
• Both parties see great potential in the market for high-speed marine engines in mainland China and globally

Rolls-Royce and Zhenjiang Shipyard have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to jointly expand their commercial marine business in tug and workboats powered by high-speed engines for the domestic Chinese and export market and to provide customers with optimized marine solutions. Rolls-Royce Power Systems and Zhenjiang Shipyard agreed to jointly explore business opportunities, bringing together the high-speed marine engine products and services of Rolls-Royce business unit Power Systems and the strong shipbuilding capacities of Zhenjiang Shipyard, integrating the technical strength and business insight of both parties, and enhancing their competitiveness in the commercial marine market. The agreement’s initial focus is on jointly promoting the development of tugboats with mtu high-speed engines in China. Zhenjiang Shipyard is the leading ship manufacturer in China in the field of special workboats.  

Yan Guo, President of Zhenjiang Shipyard, said: “Zhenjiang Shipyard is a leading manufacturer of special vessels, especially of full-rotary tugboats, marine workboats and public vessels and has strong R&D capabilities. With the signing of the strategic cooperation agreement, we will promote the application of mtu high-speed engines in full-rotary tugboats and marine workboats. We hope to achieve encouraging results with the joint efforts of both sides.”

Eugenia Valente, President of Rolls-Royce Solutions Greater China, said: “During our first visit to Zhenjiang Shipyard, my team and I were very impressed by the scale of the yard, but most and foremost by the passion the management and staff showed. We need strong and trusted partners such as Zhenjiang Shipyard to succeed in China, one of the most important markets for us at Rolls-Royce Power Systems.”

Both parties see great potential in the market for high-speed marine engines in mainland China and globally. For the application in tugs, high-speed engines – i. e. engines with a speed of more than 1000 rpm – bring several advantages: The vessels can be built in a more compact way and are thus more maneuverable, making them especially suitable for narrow and sheltered waters such as natural deep-water harbors. High-speed engines also help operators save fuel and thus reduce operating costs while at the same time minimizing CO2 emissions. So far, Rolls-Royce has sold more than 480 mtu engines for tugs and workboats which successfully serve with customers worldwide.  

With their excellent performance and compact size, mtu marine engines are widely used all over the world, providing high power while offering more maintenance space, and fully meeting the requirements of high-performance tugboats for speed, operability, volume and weight. In addition, thanks to the application of advanced industry-leading technologies such as high-pressure common rail and electronic injection, mtu marine engines offer excellent low-load torque, low fuel consumption and maintenance convenience.

The signing of this strategic cooperation agreement is strengthening and consolidating the cooperation between the two parties in China’s market for high-speed engine powered tugboats and workboats. It is conducive to promoting both parties’ technical and service capabilities to even better serve the increasingly specialized marine market which demands the highest quality.  

About Rolls-Royce Holdings plc

1. Rolls-Royce pioneers the power that matters to connect, power and protect society. We have pledged to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in our operations by 2030. We joined the UN Race to Zero campaign in 2020, and have committed to ensuring our new products will be compatible with net zero operation by 2030, and all products will be compatible with net zero by 2050.
   
2. Rolls-Royce Power Systems is headquartered in Friedrichshafen in southern Germany and employs around 9,000 people. The product portfolio includes mtu-brand high-speed engines and propulsion systems for ships, power generation, heavy land, rail and defence vehicles and for the oil and gas industry as well as diesel and gas systems and battery containers for mission critical, standby and continuous power, combined generation of heat and power, and microgrids.  
   
3. Rolls-Royce has customers in more than 150 countries, comprising more than 400 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces and navies, and more than 5,000 power and nuclear customers.
   
4. Annual underlying revenue was £11.76 billion in 2020 and we invested £1.25 billion on research and development. We also support a global network of 28 University Technology Centres, which position Rolls-Royce engineers at the forefront of scientific research.
   
5. Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a publicly traded company (LSE:RR., ADR: RYCEY, LEI: 213800EC7997ZBLZJH69).