ZF Marine, manufacturer of marine propulsion systems, is providing
marine transmissions for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Fast Response Cutters project.
On April 14, the Coast Guard vessel Bernard
C. Webber, first of the new 154-foot Sentinel Class FRCs, was commissioned at
Coast Guard Sector Miami in Miami Beach.
ZF Marine is providing two ZF 23560C Marine
Transmissions for each vessel. With a patrol boat or light duty rating well in
excess of 4,300 kW at 2,100 rpm, ZF’s transmissions will support the vital
service role the new FRC vessels play, the company says.
The ZF 23560C is the latest in a long line
of ZF Marine transmissions that have served the Coast Guard faithfully over the
last 27 years, ZF says. The first ZF Marine transmissions were installed in the
110-foot Island Class patrol vessels in 1985.
Since then, ZF Marine has supplied transmissions to the Coast Guard for nearly
10 more vessel applications. Today, the company says, more than 200 Coast Guard
boats and cutters are sailing with ZF Marine transmissions.
“The U.S. Coast Guard’s continuing
partnership with ZF Marine is a testament to the strength of our product,” says
Wolfgang Schmid, president and general manager of ZF Marine LLC, in a company
press release. “Some of the original transmissions supplied to the Coast Guard
are still in service today.”
ZF Marine’s service organization recently
completed a five-year remanufacturing program with the Coast Guard to rebuild
and return to active service BW 755-1 and BW-1500 model marine transmissions,
some of which have over 30,000 operating hours and still serve actively today.