Page 37: of Marine News Magazine (June 2020)

36 38

DIESEL OUTBOARDS

Making a Case for Diesel Outboards

OXE Marine

By Eric Haun ow more than ever, professional operators are opting to run sels are hindered by regulations to carry petrol onboard if ?re outboard engines on a various small military craft, patrol safe containment is not provided. The use of petrol is, there- boats, multi-mission workboats and other vessels that have fore, a challenge for any vessel with tenders.”

N traditionally been powered by small to midsized inboard engines. And then there’s the NATO single fuel concept, which aims

Using engines that can be mounted on the outside of a to maximize equipment interoperability through the use of a vessel instead of those requiring placement inside the hull single fuel. U.K.-based Cox Powertrain, manufacturer of the presents a number of advantages, including space savings on 300-horsepower CXO300 diesel outboard, like OXE, cites board, easier access for maintenance as well as simpler, quicker this as a key driver behind the development of its product. replacement, to name a few. Naval, military and rescue vessels equipped with diesel out-

And when it comes to outboards, there’s been a lot of buzz boards are able to use fuel supplied from the tanks of mother around diesel, which offers a number of its own advantages. ships, eliminating the need to carry or handle hazardous pet- “Probably the simplest is the safety of the fuel,” says Luke rol completely, Mahendra says.

San Antonio, Commercial Product Specialist, Mack Boring OXE Marine noted in in its 2019 fourth quarter report that & Parts Co., the U.S. Northeast distributor for Sweden-based it has delivered production units for government services in the diesel outboard engine manufacturer OXE Marine. U.S., Australia and Bangladesh, and the company is working to

Compared to gasoline, diesel is a less ?ammable fuel and line up long-term sales for other governmental projects. Accord- therefore much safer to work with in all working environments. ing to San Antonio, both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard

In addition, with diesel engines the combustion of fuel takes have been using or testing diesel outboards on different platforms.

place due to the heat generated by the compression of fuel and Another bene?t associated with diesel is ef?ciency. Both Cox air inside the cylinder. Compression ignition is safer than petro- and OXE point to signi?cant fuel savings compared to gas. Cox leum being ignited by a spark plug, or any other spark. claims its 300-horsepower CXO300 offers roughly 30% fuel sav-

Myron Mahendra, CEO of OXE Marine, adds, “Many ves- ings compared to its gasoline equivalent, while Mahendra says 37 www.marinelink.com MN