Heesen’s Project Falcon designed for sensitive coastal environments

Heesen’s largest-ever steel displacement yacht is currently in build. Its hull and superstructure were joined together in October 2019 and the interior fit-out is well underway, with  launch on target in 2021.

Measuring 60m overall and with a half-load displacement of approximately 800 tonnes, the yacht’s underwater lines are designed on the principles of Van Oossanen’s Fast Displacement Hull Form, refined by Heesen’s in-house naval architects.

But an efficient shape is just one side of a carefully balanced equation, says the company. If the yacht is to fulfil its required performance parameters, engine selection is equally important. The yacht is being built with the ability to cruise anywhere, including sensitive coastal environments where emission regulations are stringent.

MTU’s 4000 series’ engines, small but able to deliver a big power output, exactly fit the naval architects’ requirements. At their designated maximum of 1,800rpm, the 57-litre V12 M65Ls produce 1,920kW apiece, a combined total of more than 5,000 horsepower. 

Plus, MTU’s selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system is said to be a game-changer. Designed for the 4000 series’ engines for installation as an integral component of the propulsion package, SCR filters out diesel particulates and introduces a reactant into the engine’s exhaust gases to turn harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) into nitrogen and water.

The SCR set-up used in the new yacht will be the first of its kind – a compact new ‘flat box’ design with space-saving capabilities, which still satisfies all the latest IMO Tier-III regulations.

Project Falcon will be the first in the world with the SCR system alongside the V12s.

The entire fit-out of Project Falcon’s engine room, including the installation procedure for this latest model of MTU engines, followed an entirely new procedure for Heesen. In collaboration with Van Riel, a Dutch company renowned for complex industrial transportations, the two 13.2-ton engines were slid into the hull via the beach club and carefully positioned in the engine room. The logistics were carefully prepared by Heesen in order to complete the operation smoothly and with the shortest time possible.