Defense-Express web site, Kiev, in Russian 24 Oct 03
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Oct 24, 2003

Zorya-Mashproekt, a Mykolayiv-based scientific-production complex for building gas turbines, has delivered four DT-59 gas turbines with capacity 16,200 kW each to the United States, the enterprise's marketing department head, Yuriy Sultavskyy, told Defense-Express on 24 October. He said the turbines were installed on one of the four roll-on-roll-off container ships that the United States purchased in the 1990s. The container ships were produced by the Mykolayiv shipyard Okean.

Sultavskyy said that last year a tender was announced in the United States for delivery of turbines for the container ship (?Rayvid), which the Pentagon uses to transport military equipment. The Ukrainian DT-59 gas turbine overcame the power units produced by the American company General Electric, since it is cheaper and more economical, especially for use on long-distance routes.

Sultavskyy said the Americans were completely satisfied with these specifications, and a contract was signed through the state company Ukrspetseksport for the delivery of four turbines, two of which will be spare. He said that the DT-59 even uses heat from the exhaust to feed the steam turbine. In addition, the turbines have been certified by the US marine register IBS.

Sultavskyy said that the contract includes conducting scheduled repairs and servicing of the turbines. It is possible that after the turbines are tested and used in the first vessel, more will be ordered for the other vessels of the same time.

Sultavskyy said that the United States is not the first country to use Ukrainian turbines. This year assemblies were provided for a hovercraft that is being built in Singapore. It is expected that the vessel will complete tests and go into service at the end of the year. According to the contract signed in 2001, Zorya-Mashproekt developed and produced a power unit for this vessel with two specially developed gas-turbine engines with capacity of 10,000 horse power each.

The gas-turbine engine was created on the basis of the UGT6,000 (M70) and its chief characteristic is the presence of two flanges for selection of power - from the low-pressure compressor, and also from the power unit. [passage as published]

Defense-Express note: Zorya-Mashproekt produces gas turbine engines with capacity from 3 to 25 MW for driving gas-pumping equipment. These engines currently have the best economic and ecological specifications in the world.

In Ukraine, the enterprise is taking part in the modernization of gas-compression units of the type GTK-25, which previously used the 25 MW engines produced by the Nevskiy Plant in St Petersburg, Russia. This outdated equipment is currently being replaced by the new Ukrainian UGT-25,000 engine, which is produced by Zorya-Mashproekt. There are 12 such units in Ukraine, of which eight are equipped with the new engines and four are being modernized.