Seaworthy's basic engineering roots are in the marine gas turbine power field. Our 27 years of gas turbine experience continue to be applied over a broad range in both the marine and industrial area. Several of our staff’s beginning marine gas turbine experience dates to the late 1950's.

More specifically, four senior level Seaworthy personnel were pre-employed in the marine gas turbine area of United Technology's Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Division (and the UT subsidiary, Turbo Power & Marine Systems). Mr. O'Neil managed the marine engineering and marine application groups, while Mr. Winkler managed the fuel and combustion group. Messrs. Pakula, Frese and Warren were senior application engineers there.

The FT-4 gas turbine applications this team oversaw and/or engineered include the entire propulsion system (engines to propeller/controls) design and construction supervision for the (4) DDH-280 Class Canadian Navy destroyers. In addition, engine application engineering was supplied for the (2) PEDAR SKRAM Class destroyers for the Danish Navy and the FHE-400 Canadian Navy 70-knot hydrofoil BRAS D'OR. On the quasi-military side were the total power plants (gas turbines and diesel engines) including the gears, Westinghouse electric drive system, auxiliary engines and all controls and monitoring for the (2) USCG POLAR Class icebreakers. Also for the U.S. Coast Guard, the team members were the engine builder’s project engineering team for the (12) 378' HAMILTON Class cutters. The original marine gas turbine installation (Pratt & Whitney engines) for the GTS ADMIRAL WM. CALLAGHAN was engineered by this same team. In the commercial area were the (4) GTS EUROLINER Class containerships and the FINNJET ferry. In addition, there were other small, high-speed gas turbine projects where the team played the lead powering role (EAGLE and DOUBLE EAGLE, for example) as well as some offshore racing and pleasure craft.

After Seaworthy's founding in 1973, Messrs. Winkler and O'Neil were joined by half a dozen ex-PWA senior gas turbine engineers. They worked on such projects as advanced combined cycle designs and combustion and fuel related development projects (i.e., the burning of residual fuel in aircraft derivative engines–the first successful application being the GTS ASIALINER in 1974). The company worked on a government sponsored Closed Brayton Cycle project for Garrett AiResearch as well. The company has also worked on the LM2500 powered DD-963 Class to improve the waste heat recovery system. Some of that work has been extended to the FFG-7 and DDG-51 Classes. The component improvement program (GE) and the fleet wide NAVSEA operations improvement program to save fuel (SECATs) are other relevant projects involving gas turbines in which Seaworthy has been involved.

In 1996, Seaworthy became the design agent for the Pequot River Shipworks’ three 50 knot Catamarans powered by Solar Taurus engines. During 1999, Seaworthy performed an engine evaluation and selection analysis between contending General Electric and Rolls Royce 50 MW engines for the FASTSHIP project. Seaworthy also performed pre conversion engineering work relating to the propulsion systems for the Russian gas turbine powered USNS WHEAT.

Seaworthy has performed work for several clients who are gas turbine manufacturers/distributers including: Garrett AiRsearch, Kraftwerk Union, General Electric, Energy Services Corp., Allison Division of General Motors, NATCO (Kongsberg Vapenfabrikk), Solar, Rolls Royce Aero and, of course, Pratt & Whitney/UT. Marine oriented projects include such efforts as a concept-level design effort to package and install Rolls Royce/Allison 501-KF7 engines in the FBM 45M TRICAT Class of high speed (50 knot) passenger ferries.

Projects for users of gas turbines go beyond the branches of the U.S. military organizations and are as far reaching as Dow Chemical in the process industry (Australia) and the Israel Electric Corp. (Israel) to ConEd (NYC) and Public Service Electric and Gas (New Jersey) in the utilities business.

On the development side, we are currently perfecting a gas turbine NOx, CO and particulate reduction/com-pliance system with PSE&G. This involves both internal combustor redesign as well as external ancillaries. We have recently assisted in a very large combined cycle gas turbine installation design for the back-up power plant at JFK Airport in New York.

The educational background of our senior level personnel with gas turbine expertise is pertinent and includes two Kings Pointers (marine engineering), one from Brooklyn Poly (high speed combustion) and one from CCNY (rotating machinery). Seaworthy employees have authored gas turbine subject oriented papers numbering more than 20 and most were published by such organizations as SNAME, ASNE, SAE, IME, SMPE and ASME over the past 25 years. We continue to write manuals for others that include relevant gas turbine subjects such as the ABS Guide to Handling Marine Fuels and MarAd's Design Manual for Shipboard Fuel Systems.

Seaworthy's other engineering personnel are also up-to-speed in gas turbine operations and system design as they routinely perform onboard material readiness evaluations (MREs) for the USN/MSC and SECATs for U.S. Naval fleet combatants. Further, they are engaged in the detail design of auxiliary systems for industrial and marine gas turbine powering applications ashore.