South Africa: MAN Diesel & Turbo Provides Engines for Civilian Hospital Ship Africa Mercy

With four new GenSets from MAN Diesel & Turbo, the civilian hospital ship Africa Mercy is back in action off the coasts of Africa helping to provide free medical care to people in need. The Augsburg-based manufacturer of large-bore diesel engines and turbomachinery had provided the aid organisation Mercy Ships with four engines of type 5L21/31 at special cost, and these have now been installed in Durban, South Africa.

MAN Diesel & Turbo had already given the on-board electricity generators, which cover the entire hospital ship’s power requirements, to the charitable organisation last year. Due to the complexity of replacing the engines, however, the completion of the project was delayed by a few weeks. Now, the urgently needed engines are installed, and the Africa Mercy has once again been able to set sail for Sierra Leone.

The four type 5L21/31 GenSets from MAN, each delivering 1,000 kW of power, will help to cover the ship’s considerable power requirements. To provide sick and injured people off the coast of Africa with good standards of medical care, the ship has all the equipment of a medium-sized hospital. Six operating theatres, state-of-the-art medical equipment and a wealth of other systems need to be provided with power 24 hours a day. The cabins and facilities of the over 400 volunteers on board also need extra electricity.

The new auxiliary engines will help the hospital ship not only to save more than EUR 500,000 in fuel costs each year, but will also significantly reduce its CO2emissions. The reduction in vibrations, however, is one of the biggest benefits. “Our surgeons are able to work with much less disruption than previously, thanks to these new engines. Particularly complex procedures are now easier and, most importantly, safer,” says Don Stephens, founder and president of Mercy Ships.

The use of modern on-board electricity generators was facilitated by MAN Diesel & Turbo’s donation to the aid organisation of EUR 350,000.

“I’m delighted that, through our engines, we have been able to help the Mercy Ships organisation carry out its important humanitarian work along the African coastline,” says Dr. Hans-O. Jeske, acting CEO of MAN Diesel & Turbo SE.

MAN Diesel & Turbo will also be providing the aid organisation with the associated “Shipdex” data free of charge. This electronic data will make maintaining and repairing the new engines easier, and is worth around EUR 10,000.

About MAN Diesel & Turbo

MAN Diesel & Turbo SE, based in Augsburg, Germany, is the world’s leading provider of large-bore diesel engines and turbomachinery for marine and stationary applications. It designs two-stroke and four-stroke engines that are manufactured both by the company and by its licensees. The engines have power outputs ranging from 450 kW to 87 MW. MAN Diesel & Turbo also designs and manufactures gas turbines of up to 50 MW, steam turbines of up to 150 MW and compressors with volume flows of up to 1.5 million m³/h and pressures of up to 1,000 bar. The product range is rounded off by turbochargers, CP propellers, gas engines and chemical reactors. MAN Diesel & Turbo’s range of goods includes complete marine propulsion systems, turbomachinery units for the oil & gas as well as the process industries and turnkey power plants. Customers receive worldwide after-sales services marketed under the MAN PrimeServ brand. The company employs around 12,700 staff at more than 100 international sites, primarily in Germany, Denmark, France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Italy, India and China. MAN Diesel & Turbo is a company of the Power Engineering business area of MAN SE, which is listed on the DAX share index of the 30 leading companies in Germany.

About Mercy Ships

Mercy Ships has pledged to make free, first-class healthcare available via hospital ships to people in developing countries who could not afford it. Mercy Ships was founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens, and has since worked in over 70 countries, providing medical and humanitarian aid worth more than US$ 748 million and improving the lives of over 2.16 million people. The workforce of more than 1,200 worldwide, hailing from more than 40 nations, is supported each year by 2,000 volunteers who work on board on short-term contracts. Specialists such as surgeons, dentists, nurses, healthcare trainers, teachers, chefs, sailors, engineers and agricultural experts provide their time and skills free of charge.

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Source: MAN,April 19, 2011; Image: MercyShips