A partnership that delivers all of the power and prestige, all of the time.

The Rolls-Royce Power Systems’ mtu brand is synonymous with high-end, reliable, and innovative technology for propulsion and power generation within the marine industry. Penske Australia and New Zealand’s role as the exclusive distributor of mtu products in these regions underlines the strength and value of this long-standing relationship, crucial in delivering advanced, high-performance solutions to customers across Australia, New Zealand, and into the broader Pacific region. This partnership not only reflects the quality and prestige of the mtu brand, but also the dedication of Penske to deliver premium products and excellent service in these markets.

Dominic White, Sales Manager Marine – East for Penske, proudly states that, “Working with Maritimo is a perfect example of how the reliability and power of mtu engines complement Maritimo’s commitment to building high-performance, luxury motor yachts. This relationship has grown due to the shared values of quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction.” In a recent catchup with Dominic he shared a little of the history of the connection between the three recognised and trusted brands.

“The genesis of the Maritimo, mtu and Penske relationship was actually through Phil Candler, who I’d known since around 2003. Phil was running a design team for another company, and we worked together on bringing mtu into that product line, which had never previously seen mtu at all. We started with the famous Series 60 engine and then Phil and I worked pretty hard together and brought the 2000 Series Common Rail engine in, when it was released in 2004.”

“Phil’s very technical and he understood the technical attributes of an mtu engine. Once we had the opportunity to present the total picture to Bill Barry-Cotter, Maritimo’s owner, Bill could see the advantages of what mtu, through Penske, could offer to the company and its customers.”

“Bill could see the synergies of having mtu in his product lineup and what we could offer over other power plants. Distinct advantages like 100% available power 100% of the time – so no restrictions of power, with a well-matched gearbox as well. There are a lot more ZF gearbox models, with an array of ratios, and this flexibility very much suit the mtu style of engines.”

Another big thing for Maritimo was Penske’s long-term relationship with mtu, to deliver a ‘one-stop shop’. Penske supply the thruster systems, the joystick system, the controls and the monitoring system, which is all proprietary from mtu with the integration of Side Power thrusters from the Sleipner Group. So, from a manufacturing point of view, there is one provider supplying pretty much 98% of the driveline for the boat, all with factory proven integration. The power to weight ratios that mtu offer in any of their engines, especially the V10, is unrivalled. When coupled to a well-matched set of gears, it’s a great package.

Technically this is a very good solution for Maritimo, with exceptional support. This is of critical importance, because Maritimo know as their markets expand around the world, they can rely on mtu’s global support network.

Significantly, mtu are very unique in what they do. Their focus on product development is not about the cost of the engine. It’s about the delivery for the customer. Their products are designed to run Wide Open Throttle all of the time if required, without letting the customer down, with huge reliability, durability and exceptional fuel economy. Then there’s other advantages like the mtu Go! premium package that comes with customer support globally, and of course ‘off boat’ monitoring for the engines – not dissimilar to aircraft engine monitoring.

“Customers, even with multimillion-dollar boats, really focus in on the total cost of ownership, and mtupowerplants are a low-cost ownership engine. We looked at it for the duration of a five-year ownership period, with the vessel doing 250 hours a year. The maintenance schedule for mtu is a 500-hour, two-year oil drain, a valve set at 1,000 hours, and coolant changes every two years. So, it is very low.”

The ZF gearbox comes with a 50-hour first service and then pulls into line with the mtu engines for its servicing from there on. mtu use and recommend their own oil, which they’ve developed with a global oil provider, it’s a mineral oil – 15W-40. It has a good base stock in it, and it delivers very good results through that two-year, 500-hour drain period. So, put those two things together and then if we look at the raw water system on MTU, there are no rubber impellers. They’re all brass impellers. Their longevity is excellent. You’re running in clean, deep water, especially if you’re operating in Australia, New Zealand, and off the coast of the US, where the water is always clean. You’ll get a very long life from your pumps.

The heat exchangers are all titanium plate and are all relative to the water quality that you operate in. So, there’s no every year changing rubber impellers or pulling heat exchanger stacks out to acid bath. Those items sort of fall by the wayside and engines just operate well.

Working with the Maritimo Engineering and Design guys on the Flagship 75s, it was always about what’s going to be best for the boat, in those technical discussions. We’ve seen the water system set up very well, the exhaust system set up very well and the fuel system just works perfectly. Maritimo have done a great job in setting the boat up technically, and it really adds to the performance, which just lets the engines get on and do their job.”

“Whilst also having a future focus, all mtu powerplants are currently approved for the use of synthetic diesel, 100% HVO, with no real degradation in power output. What we have also achieved with mtu right here and now and is available in Maritimos today, are engines that deliver outstanding fuel economy, throughout their entire service life. On top of all that, we’re seeing far better fuel consumption results compared to other engines in the market.”

“So, if you’re burning less fuel, then you have less emissions and can go further with what you have in your tank. Couple this with an efficient engine service program that minimises required oil changes and usage, then the reductions become even more significant.”