12-cylinder engine designed for high power and light weight
Seatek’s latest high-performance V12 engine is being adopted for patrol craft applications
Italian engine manufacturer Seatek is probably the only diesel engine builder in the world that builds engines dedicated to the marine market, writes Dag Pike.
Up to now, the company has specialised in in-line six-cylinder high performance diesels that offered the most favourable power-to-weight ration of any engines on the market. The latest introduction is a V-12 engine that is said to offer similar levels of high performance to a wider market.
The V-12 Seatek is available in two versions, one offering 1,300bhp and the latest version that offers 1,500bhp. This 1,500bhp engine draws on the considerable experience that Seatek engineers developed in producing high performance versions – to be known as the ‘plus’ version - of the six-cylinder engine. The high-performance features include advanced turbo-charging systems and electronic control. The engine is a direct injection unit with fresh water cooling, and it weighs in at around 1,750kg dry.
Like the six cylinder Seatek diesels, this new engine is finding applications in high performance military vessel installations. The first engines of the V-12 series have been sold to Russia where they are being installed in high speed fishery protection vessels. With further development the output of this engine is likely to increase; Seatek already has an electronic version of the six-cylinder engine with sequential turbo-charging, rated at 950bhp, and the 12-cylinder engine is likely to get the same treatment.
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