Page 32: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 2000)

Propulsion Report

MW. It addresses not only the funda- mental requirement of smaller ships such as ferries and offshore service ves- sels for maneuverability and slow-speed control, but also for cost-efficiency as regards both system installation, ship design and operation.

Not only does Azipod have the longest track record among the various, compet- ing pod designs, its service experience encompasses the smallest applications to date for the generic type as well as the higher power concentrations. In fact, the system made its debut nine years ago in a waterway service vessel equipped with a 1.5-MW pod, and has also been fitted in unit sizes down to 560-kW. as used in an Austrian river icebreaker.

However, the Compact Azipod is dis- tinct from its forerunner in form and cer- tain, key features. In particular, the adoption of permanent magnet technol- ogy in the electric motor, and direct cooling to the surrounding water, has made for a simplified construction, compact dimensions and improved hydrodynamics. A low voltage frequen- cy converter controls the permanent magnet synchronous motor, driving a fixed pitch propeller, which can be spec- ified in either 'pulling' or 'pushing' con- figuration.

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NNS Fixes

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ISO 9001 CERTIFIED 8365 Highway 308 South • Lockport, Louisiana 70374

Telephone: (504) 532-2554 • Fax: (504) 532-7225 • www.bollingershipyards.com

Paradise s Pod

The Driving Force • ^ f in Quality;

A/innovation and

Y Service.

When the 70,367-ton, 855 - ft. (260.6 m)

Carnival Par- adise arrived at

Newport News

Shipbuilding for emergency repair on its

Azipod propul- sion system, it marked a mile- Becky Stewart, director stone in ship of ship repair, Newport repair history News Shipbuilding. as no U.S.- based yard had ever performed work on the advanced pod system. The vessel arrived for drydocking at the yard on

July 25, where the NNS crew prepared it in time for its next scheduled sailing date on August 20. MR/EN had the opportunity to speak with Becky Stew- art, NNS' director of ship repair, who provided an update of this premiere repair job.

For the past two-and-a-half weeks crews from various departments within

Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) have been grinding away around-the- clock seven days a week in order to reju- venate the Carnival Paradise's Azipod propulsion system. The yard's rigging and machine shop crews, along with

ABB (the manufacturers of the Azipod system) technicians worked together to ensure the 2,052-passegership's place back at its Miami, Fla. port by August 20. Once repairs on the Azipods are complete, the vessel will steam south to its homeport — resuming its scheduled itineraries to the Eastern and Western

Caribbean.

First established in Europe, Azipods have been touted as innovative because of their ability to pull the ship through water rather than pushing it, as well as eliminating the necessity of rudders, long shaft lines, conventional drive units and stern thrusters.

The emergency repair job, the first of its kind in the U.S. was granted to NNS by Carnival after the two-year-old Par- adise's starboard side seal deteriorated — flooding the electric-powered Azipod system. Since an electric system cannot operate in these conditions, Carnival

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