ABB has won a long-term service contract from Carnival Corporation to maintain and upgrade ABB’s Azipod equipment over the next 15 years for 20 ships in their fleet, cutting costs by as much as $1 million a year per ship.
Carnival is the world’s largest cruise ship operator and has 20 cruise vessels with Azipod propulsion systems.
Azipods differ from conventional shaft or z-drive configurations in that they are exclusively powered by high voltage electricity and the motors that turn the propeller are located outside the hull and integrated directly with the propeller itself. Benefits of this configuration include greater hydrodynamic efficiency, maneuverability, and more flexible placement of the on board electrical generation plant. The upgrades are projected to improve the already high energy efficiency of Azipod units by 2.5 to 4 percent.
“Customers in all industries are looking at ways to reduce overall lifecycle costs and make such costs more predictable, while continuing to improve equipment performance,” said Veli-Matti Reinikkala, head of ABB’s Process Automation division. “We provide a full portfolio of services, including ongoing technology upgrades and dependable maintenance support to help extend the life of equipment, and ensure that it runs at the highest energy efficiency levels possible.”
The service contract covers technology and energy efficiency upgrades for all Azipod systems and propulsion condition monitoring for all ships, and other system equipment maintenance.
The contract includes technology upgrades such as the newly designed Azipod optimized fin shape, which receives water flow from the propeller at a new, less acute angle that redirects the flow more efficiently and Azipod Dynamic Optimizer, a software tool designed to control the pod toe angle, which provides even greater fuel savings for large vessels.
Carnival isn’t the only cruise line using ABB Azipods. The Captain of the Freedom of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines ship, describes his experience using ABB Azipods while operating in a highly adverse current condition without tugs.
The value of Russia’s crude shipments hit a two-year low in the four weeks to May 25 even as Moscow shrugged off a threat that the G-7 group of nations may tighten the price cap on the country’s exports.
A U.S. trade court ruling that blocked most of President Donald Trump's tariffs and found he had overstepped his authority triggered some relief on financial markets on Thursday, while adding to the uncertainties weighing on the global economy.
The Philippine foreign ministry said on Thursday that China has no right to object to or interfere with its lawful and routine activities in the South China Sea.
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