The power and automation technology group ABB has won an order about[ds_preview] 60 mill. $ to provide complete power and Azipod propulsion systems for two new cruise ships to be built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCCL). The order for the first ship was booked in 2011 and for the second in the first quarter of 2012. The new ships are the first vessels in Royal Caribbean’s new class of cruise ships, currently named »Project Sunshine«. The 158,000 GT ships will have a capacity of more than 4,100 passengers. ABB will supply complete electrical systems for the new ships, the delivery includes power generation and distribution systems, thruster motors, and two 20.5 MW propulsion systems including transformers, drives and two Azipod XO propulsion units. ABB’s Azipod propulsion uses less fuel than traditional systems and provides greater manoeuvrability in all operating conditions.
Furthermore, ABB has concluded a long-term service contract with Carnival over the next 15 years. It covers maintenance and upgrade of ABB’s Azipod equipment installed on 20 cruise vessels of Carnival’s fleet. This should cut the costs by as much as 1 mill. $ a year per ship. The upgrades are projected to improve the energy efficiency by 2.5 – 4 %.
