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It’s a well known fact that the cheetah is the fastest animal on land, but now, the Cheetah
is also the fastest “animal” on water – the Seacor Cheetah, that is. Equipped with MTU
engines, the Cheetah has recently been awarded the title “Ship of the Year”.
The cheetah, reaching a phenomenal speed of 70 mph, is as fast as lightning.
The Seacor Cheetah does up to 50 mph, thereby doing great credit to its name.
46 | MTU REPORT 1/2009 | Marine
The “American Ship Review”
magazine awarded the Cheetah,
powered by MTU engines, the
title “Ship of the Year”.
N
ot much more than a cloud
of dust is what the cheetah
leaves behind racing across
Savannah terrain. The cheetah –
swift as lightning – is the fastest
land-living animal. One could think
the cheetah was designed in a wind
tunnel: a small aerodynamic head,
long, thin legs, a flexible spine, a
sleek shoulderline and a long tail
serving as a type of rudder enabling
the cheetah to change directions
even at high speed. The sea now has
its own cheetah: the Seacor Cheetah
workboat. While this Cheetah doesn’t
quite match the 70 mph that its
mammal namesake has been known
to reach, it did manage a recordsetting 42 knots during sea trials in
the Gulf of Mexico, thanks to four
MTU 16V 4000 engines rated at
3,305 horsepower apiece. At 42
knots, the Seacor Cheetah is by far
the fastest crew boat ever built.
The catamaran is the first model of
the new Seacor CrewZer series and
its main task is to to provide a
shuttle service between the mainland and offshore oil drilling rigs,
transporting crews, as well as equipment. The vessel is geared to suit
the requirements of the oil & gas
industry, facilitating a shuttle service
between highly frequented offshore
platforms and coastal bases – all of
this in combination with an
optimum of safety and enhanced
passenger comfort.
48 | MTU REPORT 1/2009 | Marine
REVOLUTIONIZING CREW
TRANSPORT. With a 38-foot beam,
the Seacor Cheetah is not only the
fastest, but also the widest crew &
supply boat at sea – an entirely new
dimension. With its ability to transport a high number of passengers
combined with a top speed of over
40 knots, the Seacor Cheetah is
changing the crew transport equation. Before Seacor Cheetah, a
company with off-shore operations
would have to make a choice between crew boat and helicopter, or
stated another way, between speed
and cost. A typical crew boat could
transport a relatively large number
of passengers, compared to a helicopter, but the transport time would
be significantly longer. On the other
hand, helicopters provide a much
quicker transfer, but at a substantially higher price. Enter Seacor
Cheetah. With its seating capacity of
nearly twice the average crew boat
and a speed differential of nearly 15
knots, Seacor Cheetah is causing the
oil and gas industry to rethink the
crew boat vs. helicopter equation.
Occupied seat-mile cost can be up
to 30 to 40 percent lower for Seacor
Cheetah than a large helicopter,
which can result in as much as a
40 percent cost savings over the air
route on a single crew change.
“There’s been a lot of excitement in
the industry about the Cheetah’s
capabilities,” stated Joe McCall, Seacor Project Manager. Since a deep
water drilling rig’s day rate is in excess
of $400,000, their excitement is understandable. Oil companies simply
can’t afford to be idle while waiting
for relief crews and equipment.
“As the oil and gas industry moves
farther and farther offshore, service
companies have to innovate to meet
customer’s needs and offer logistics
people more options,” says McCall.
When asked about the benefits and
performance of the Cheetah’s catamaran design coupled with its four
MTU engines, McCall responded, “It
amounts to increased speed and a
more stable work platform. It’s a
good marriage. The Cheetah is better,
faster and safer than any other
crew/supply vessel in service today.”
And that’s not just McCall’s opinion.
The Seacor Cheetah received the
honor of 2008 Ship of the Year from
Professional Mariner Magazine’s
American Ship Review, an unlikely
title for your ordinary workboat.
”Each year, American Ship Review
looks over all commercial vessels
built in U.S. and Canadian yards for
a new build that really stands out
from the rest,” explained American
Ship Review’s editor, Peter Meredith.
”It’s rare for us to name a workboat
as our Ship of the Year, but as
demand increases for faster, stronger
workboats for the offshore oil
industry, Seacor Cheetah sets a
benchmark for both speed and
versatility. At 42 knots, it challenges
helicopters as a way to get workers
The day rate to run an offshore drilling rig is $400,000 – swift crew and equipment transfer is therefore of the essence.
NEW “IRONMEN” WORKING VESSELS ENGINE
An advanced-design working vessels engine has also been on
the market since October 2008. The long-stroke Series 4000 M63
“Ironmen” model with a choice of 8, 12 or 16 cylinders has been
optimized specifically for the requirements of working vessels.
The engine uses only 195 grams of fuel per kilowatt-hour and
can go for as long as 34,000 hours between complete overhauls,
depending on performance and load profile. That is a considerable improvement on the previous model. The power output of
2,240 kilowatts is also over 10 percent higher than before. The
engine meets all current emission standards such as EPA Tier 2,
ZKR 2 and EU Level IIIA. It is also technologically equipped to
deal with future emission limits.
The Cheetah is geared to perfectly match
the requirements of the oil & gas industry:
the Cheetah is fast und provides plenty of
space for crews and equipment.
The latest technology
facilitates keeping the
vessel’s positions even in
the most inclement
weather conditions.
out to platforms, and its DP-2
rating is the way of the future for
crewboats and workboats alike.”
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY FOR
SUPERIOR SAFETY. The Seacor
Reflex Marine’s nine-person FROG capsule allows the safe and efficient transfer
of crew members from the Cheeta to the drilling rig.
SEACOR MARINE
Powered by four MTU 16V 4000 engines with 3,305 HP
each, the Seacor Cheetah is more than 15 knots faster
than its predecessors.
50 | MTU REPORT 1/2009 | Marine
Seacor Marine is a leader in the offshore oil and gas and marine transportation industry, primarily servicing the offshore
oil and gas exploration, development and production facilities. Headquartered in Houma, Louisiana, Seacor Marine operates a fleet of over 250 vessels worldwide including over 90
in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to the Seacor Cheetah and
Seacor Cougar, MTU will be providing engines for two 190’
Seacor crew boats being built in 2009 and 2010. Each crew
boat will be powered by five 12V 4000 engines.
Cheetah is armed with a host of
safety features, including the FROG
personnel transfer system, designed
by Reflex Marine, which protects
passengers from the three most
common forms of personnel basket
incidents-falling, hard landing, and
side impact. The FROG capsule is
built of a stainless steel frame that
protects occupants from lateral
impacts, and includes a buoyancy
configuration that ensures the Frog
will float upright and remain stable
in the water in the event of a drop
into the sea. Should the capsule fall
abruptly into the sea or hit the platform deck due to crane error or
sudden upward platform motion
caused by waves, the passengers
would be protected by a springmounted suspension system. “This
capsule makes our ships particularly
safe – an unrivalled solution for crew
transports to oil & gas rigs” explains
Jason Miller, Marketing Manager for
Seacor Marine.
Electronics, communication as well
as navigation systems on board the
Seacor Cheetah are also state-ofthe-art, one highlight being its DP-2
classification, enabling the ship to
hold its position even in the most
inclement weather conditions. DP-2
refers to dynamic positioning, a
computer-controlled system that
automatically maintains a vessel’s
position using her own propellers
and thrusters to compensate for
environmental factors. It enables
operations at sea where mooring
or anchoring is not feasible due to
deep water, congestion on the sea
bottom (pipelines, templates) or
other concerns.
SOUNDING OUT MTU. The choice
of MTU as the engine provider for
the ambitious Cheetah project was
not one that was entered into lightly. Among others, Seacor Project
Manager Joe McCall visited longtime MTU customers like the operator of the “Catalina Express” in
California. The fleet of fast ferries
has been running 12V and 16V 4000
engines with very positive results
since the engines came on the
market. Catalina Express is host to
over one million passengers each
year, offering year round service and
up to 30 departures daily to Catalina
Island in the Pacific Ocean. McCall’s
second stop took him cross country
from California to Florida where he
took a ride on the Key West Express
from Ft. Meyers to Key West. Key
West Express operates a vessel whose
hull is almost identical to that of the
Cheetah, powered by four MTU
16V 4000s. The Key West Express
has also experienced excellent results.
According to McCall, it was
customer testimonials to MTU’s
reliability and global service network
that sealed the deal: “The engines
are terrifically powerful, reliable and
MTU’s service portfolio is overwhelming. We simply had a good comfort level.” If repeat business is any
indication, Seacor’s comfort level
continues to grow. MTU is also
providing Series 4000 workboat
edition engines for the Seacor
Cheetah’s sister ship, the Seacor
Cougar, which was launched in early
2009. The Seacor Cougar is powered
by four MTU Tier 2 16V4000 M73
engines, rated at 3,435 horsepower
each. MTU Marine Sales Manager,
Jeff Sherman explains: “It has been
a very exciting project that MTU is
extremely proud to be a part of.
We are happy to contribute to the
success of this industry-changing
catamaran project, and we look
forward to a long relationship with
Seacor Marine.”
Jennifer Riley
➔ Jeff Sherman
[email protected]
Tel. +1 313-592 8345
www.seacormarine.com
Looking back
After MTU’s entry into the commercial engines business and the introduction of
the Series 4000 in 1996, those engines are now in successful use in working vessels. In recent years, the number of engines sold has risen by 30 percent a year.
In order to make sure that trend continues, MTU developed an advanced engine for working vessels in 2008 which meets the specialized requirements even
more precisely – the Ironmen engine is exceptionally tough, reliable and powerful and also sets new standards in terms of fuel consumption and environmental credentials.
Marine
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