Page 55: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (July 2001)

Podded Propulsion compact, water-cooled unit could reach several hundred units per annum within just a few years.

The adoption of a permanent magnet motor not only allows a slimmer pod and promises higher electrical efficiency, but also obviates cooling on the rotor, while the stator is cooled by convection to the surrounding seawater. The standard, single-propeller system can be deliv- ered as either a 'pulling 'or 'pushing' ver- sion, and the pushing variant may be fit- ted with a nozzled propeller to give a higher bollard pull rating.

The distinctive propulsor type has been selected for three multi-role sup- port vessels contracted from a west

Norwegian shipyard by the Ulsteinvik- based company Island Offshore. The recipient, diesel-electric newbuildings will be of the UT745E type, drawn up by Rolls-Royce Marine.

With the 4,000-dwt first-of-class due for handover this year by Soviknes

Verft, the versatile support vessel class features with two pulling-type Compact

Azipod units dimensioned and powered for an output of 2,300 kW apiece. The project also signifies a new application, in a demanding operating scenario, for

ABB's new, water-cooled ACS600

Marine Drive, a key constituent of the

Compact Azipod.

The first Royal Navy vessels incorpo- rating integrated electric propulsion and Azipod propulsors will be the sur- vey vessels HMS Echo and HMS

Endurance, which are being construct- ed by Appledore Shipbuilders under subcontract from Vosper Thornycroft (UK). Each vessel will be equipped with two PWM (pulse width modula- tion)-controlled Compact Azipod units rated at 1,700-kW each, as part of a broader package of supply by ABB also encompassing the generators for the main power plant.

The prestigious contract to supply four Mermaid pod systems to the nascent Queen Mary 2, the 150,000-gt luxury cruise liner booked from

Chantiers de l'Atlantique for Carnival's

Cunard Line brand, has taken the sales tally for the series to 40 units. Original- ly parented by Kamewa and electric drive specialist Cegelec, now respec- tively vested in Rolls-Royce and

Alstom Power Conversion, Mermaid has also recently been nominated for

NYK's 68,000-gt cruise ship newbuild at St. Nazaire, and also for the 60,000- gt sisters placed with the same yard by

Italian operator MSC Cruise.

The Queen Mary 2 project signifies application of the technology at an unsurpassed level of power, whereby the installation will comprise two fixed and two azimuthing pod units of 21.5-

MW each, delivering a combined out-

July, 2001 put of 86-MW. The arrangements are designed to ensure a speed of nearly 30- knots with low noise and vibration lev- els and maximum maneuverability.

The Mermaid range covers unit pow- ers up to 25-MW, and has hitherto been sold in versions from 7-MW upwards.

The proprietors plan to introduce drives starting at 500-kW, cognizant of the considerable small-ship market poten- tial for pod propulsors. The 85,000-gt

Millennium-class cruise ships entrusted by Celebrity Cruises to Chantiers de l'Atlantique provided the debut for the

Mermaid as well as for the gas turbo- electric powering concept in the cruise sector.

Mermaid has also been favored for the

Project America initiative, whereby two 12.5-MW units will be supplied in each case to two 72,000-gt cruise ships to be

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