MAN Diesel & Turbo has announced the 500th sale of its MAN 48/60 medium-speed engine.

The milestone was reached with the order of two common-rail variants of the engine by Huta Marine of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia as part of a diesel-electric system to power a self-propelled cutter suction dredger.

Huta Marine is a specialist in marine infrastructure and its fleet ranks among the largest in the Middle East.

The dredger will be built in the Netherlands by a shipyard belonging to the IHC Merwede Group, the global market leader for dredging, mining and other custom-built vessels.

The MAN 48/60 engine

Based on the 48/60 workhorse, the 48/60 engine was introduced in 2003 in both L- and V- versions. Over its working history, it has proved itself a valuable, sturdy workhorse and all-round performer over a broad range of applications.

The 48/60 medium-speed engine is based on the successful 48/60 series first launched in 1989. The B variant represented a major redevelopment of the concept characterised by increased output, reduced engine weight/width, and an optimised combustion that reduced both exhaust emissions and fuel consumption.

The 48/60 has been continuously developed ever since, notably including an upgrade to common-rail fuel injection in 2008 and full Tier II compliance in 2011, and more recently featuring a redesign of its cylinder head where a higher fuel injection pressure resulted in improved atomisation and better combustion, ultimately reducing both fuel consumption and emission levels.

The 48/60 engine derives several, extra advantages from forming an integral part of the MAN Diesel & Turbo portfolio. The engine has many references where it has been integrated with the successful TCA turbocharger series while SaCoSone, MAN Diesel & Turbo’s proven engine-management system, has also become standard issue.