Rolls-Royce received a contract to deliver its MTU diesel engines for the Turkish Coast Guard search and rescue vessels that are to be built by Dutch shipbuilder Damen.

That was reported by navaltoday.com.

The six new vessels are paid for by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and will be built in Ankara.

The boats will support ongoing operations to rescue migrants and refugees from crisis areas along the Turkish coast.

They are designed to be self-righting, should they capsize. Rolls-Royce added that the MTU engines will keep on running even in the extreme event that the vessel completes a full 360° vertical roll around its longitudinal axis.

Damen Shipyards Antalya will be building the vessels with the first delivery expected in May 2017 and the remainder by the end of the year.

The vessels are designed and equipped to operate as lifeboats, and the aluminium hull is based on Damen’s Axe-Bow technology.

The MTU 8V 2000 M84L engines enable a top speed of 33 knots for search and rescue operations.

“We have designed our engines specifically for such difficult operational conditions, including the unlikely event of capsizing,” Knut Müller, head of the marine and government business division at MTU said. “They are equipped with a special kit, which ensures that there is sufficient oil available to coat the engine parts with a film of lubricant.”