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Norwegian manufacturer ABB has developed

the Azipod D with offshore players as potential clients. HANSA talked to Arthur Solvåg, Vice President Sales, about special features and advantages
HANSA: Would you agree that the Azipod D is very good suitable for offshore vessels as the exploration is going[ds_preview] more and more on the deep seas and owners are seeking for larger diesel-electric vessels with dynamic positioning capabilities?

Arthur Solvåg: Yes, one of the target markets is offshore vessels such as OSVs, drill ships and rigs. These vessels already apply diesel electric propulsion very widely but their technical requirements are increasing. For example reliability and maintainability are becoming more and more important.

What is the specific gain for owners of offshore oil & gas vessels? What can the product deliver, that others cannot?

Solvåg: Azimuth thrusters and electric propulsion are used very much in the offshore market. However, these thrusters use mechanical power transmission, they need reduction gears between the driving motor inside the ship hull and the propeller. The Azipod propulsion system is gearless, the electric motor drives directly the propeller. This means simplicity, higher efficiency, less maintenance and superb reliability. The electric motor is in the pod outside the vessel hull – this means space savings inside the vessel.

ABB emphasizes some innovations like a hybrid cooling system, an improved shape or the tail fin. What are their advantages?

Solvåg: The hybrid cooling means that the electric motor inside the pod is cooled partly by the surrounding sea and partly by internal air circulation. With this system the cooling is very effective and more output torque can be utilized from the electric motor. This can be used for optimizing the propeller diameter and getting the best hydrodynamic efficiency. This is also more cost efficient as more power can be taken from the same size of Azipod thruster. An improved thruster unit shape and the tail fin improve hydrodynamics and ship steerability.

What are the specific improvements in terms of power consumption, energy consumption and vessel performance?

Solvåg: Hybrid cooling and the Azipod thruster’s hydrodynamic design are the main features as far as power or energy consumption are concerned. A typical OSV can be built with up to 25% less installed power compared to a ship with mechanical thruster.

How is the feedback of the offshore oil & gas industry?

Solvåg: There is a lot of interest for the Azipod D, but at the moment we can not yet unveil any orders.




Michael Meyer