YUET Hing Marine Supplies Co has bought six Textron Lycoming TF40 marine gas turbines costing US$6 million to power three of its high-speed ferries now being built West Australian shipbuilder Austal Ships. The Hongkong-based Yuet Hing, a unit of Chu Kong Shipping Co, had selected the US-based Lycoming company over several other competitors for the supply of the marine engines. ''After more than three years of research and comparison in order to increase the speed of our ferries, we selected the Lycoming TF40 marine gas turbine,'' said a Yuet Ming spokesman. Lycoming manager for communications Louis Savenelli, who is visiting Hongkong, said the Far East had great potential for high-speed ferries because of the geography of the region and the large number of islands. ''We believe that the TF40 marine gas turbine engines can play a major role in the fast-ferry market, '' he said, adding that his company also was targeting the engines for yachts and fast naval craft. Lycoming's director of turbo-shaft marketing Carroll Oates said: ''Competition in the Asian ferry market place has created a demand for craft that are faster than the current 31-knot boats. ''As a result, we are seeing increased interest in the TF40 because it packs a high power-to-weight ratio into a relatively small, light-weight engine. This allows for the design of new surface craft that are faster, can carry a greater payload, and havemore usable space than ever before.'' Lycoming has representatives in Taiwan and Singapore to service clients. ''We are in the process of identifying people in this area to expand our service network,'' Mr Savenelli said, but he added that he did not think his company would establish an office in Hongkong. He explained that the group had an agreement with Detroit Diesel Corporation to market its fully integrated, combined diesel and gas turbine marine propulsion installation packages worldwide through its network. Lycoming communications director William McDaniel, who is also visiting Hongkong, said Lycoming was working with the Chinese classification society, ZC, to certify that Lycoming plant procedures comply with society specifications. The qualifying process, which is a routine procedure, involves an inspection plan based upon requirements of the society and the production and delivery dates of the engines. Members of the ZC began their inspection in Stratford on June 30 and it was progressing smoothly, said Mr McDaniel, adding that the engine delivery was scheduled for later this year. ZC is one of the national agencies whose function is to certify the quality, safety and performance of engines, and provide information to insurance carriers who underwrite the performance lives of the engines. Other agencies are the American Bureau of Standards (ABS), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) of Britain. Mr Savenelli said Lycoming met classification requirements of most major national authorities and by the end of next year expected to have engines classified by virtually all associations.