MIAMI, Fla. - GE Marine Engines continues to make inroads into the cruise industry, the company reported today at the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention.To date, GE has 20 LM2500+ and five LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines operating or slated for service on cruise ships, either in combined gas turbine and steam turbine integrated electric drive system (COGES) or combined diesel and gas turbine (CODAG) arrangements. Here's a brief look at these projects:
- Celebrity Cruises Millennium is the world's first cruise ship powered exclusively by gas turbines. The two GE LM2500+ aeroderivative gas turbines aboard the Millennium have together logged more than 10,000 fired hours under a regular maintenance schedule. The LM2500+-based COGES provides for the ship's propulsion as well as power for onboard services. The vessel began operating in the summer of 2000. The second Celebrity Lines cruise ship, the Infinity, is expected to enter service in the spring of 2001.
- Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas, built for sister company Royal Caribbean International, will make its maiden voyage in the Spring of 2001, also powered by an LM2500+-based COGES configuration. This is the first Royal Caribbean International cruise ship to be powered by gas turbines. Orders have also been placed for another two Vantage-class COGES ships with options for two additional COGES ships.
- Princess Cruises will use LM2500+ aeroderivative gas turbines in CODAG configurations for two Grand Princess-class and two Baby Grand-class cruise ships currently on order. One LM2500+ gas turbine will be used on each vessel in conjunction with medium-speed diesel engine-driven alternators.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) will construct the two 113,000-ton Grand Princess cruise ships at its Nagasaki, Japan shipyard. Each ship will use four diesel engine-drive alternators. Chantiers de l'Atlantique will build two 88,000-ton Baby Grand vessels at its facilities in Saint Nazaire, France. There are options for two additional ships. Each ship will also use two diesel engine-driven alternators.
The Mitsubishi-constructed vessels are the largest cruise ships ever ordered by Princess and the first to be commissioned from MHI. All four Grand Princess-class ships are part of a five-year expansion program that will see the Princess fleet grow to include 14 ships carrying more than 1.5 million passengers annually.
According to Princess Cruises, the diesel and gas turbine propulsion arrangement employs environmentally sound technology that supports their ongoing commitment to this important issue. At the same time, this design incorporates better space usage through installation of the gas turbine in the funnel area of the ships, thereby enabling an even wider range of public rooms and onboard facilities to be introduced.
- Holland America, a unit of Carnival Corporation, will use five LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbine-generator sets for five new cruise ships being built by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali, S.p.A., Trieste, Italy. One LM2500 turbine-generator set will be applied per ship, operating in parallel with one or more of the five diesel generators on board. This configuration will allow the vessels to operate in environmentally sensitive areas using clean gas turbine power. The ships also will use a podded drive propulsion system, allowing for greater maneuverability and enhanced operating efficiencies.The first LM2500 gas turbine-generator is currently undergoing full load testing at the Houston, Texas facility of GE Aero Energy Products (formerly known as S&S Energy Products), and will be transported to the shipyard in April 2001. GE Aero Energy Products is a GE Marine Engines Marine System Supplier and a GE Power Systems business based in Houston. GE Aero Energy Products is packaging all of the gas turbines for the above mentioned cruise ship applications.
GE Marine Engines is part of GE Aircraft Engines and is headquartered in Evendale, Ohio.
GE Marine Engines is the world's largest designer, developer and manufacturer of aeroderivative gas turbines for a variety of commercial and military marine propulsion applications. Visit GE Marine Engines at Marine Propulsion section of our website.