Page 56: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2018)

case study

Images Courtesy: ABB

CRUISE SHIP TECH

Courtesy: ALMACO ALMACO v. Irma

ALMACO delivered 32 new cabins and four suites with adjacent corridors, el- evator lobbies and stairs onboard Carni-

Marcus Högblom Alf Kåre Ådnanes val Elation despite major disruption from

Hurrican Irma.

As ALMACO has been a force in cus- tom marine cabin and facilities manu-

For the Rise of the Chinese-Built Cruise Ship facturing for two decades, the project to supply 32 new cabins and 4 suites for Carnival Elation started innocuously enough, with the requisite meeting be-

ABB is Prepared tween ALMACO’s modernization team and Carnival Cruise Line to decide the ith a system, product and service portfolio ABB’s position in the Chinese marine sector. ABB recently best road forward.

including power, automation and propulsion, won contracts to supply electrical power generation and

Since the area to be out? tted was in

ABB has a long history serving the cruise distribution solutions, Azipod propulsion system and turbo- a completely new cabin block, including

Wshipping sector. Amidst the current cruise chargers for the new Viking Line cruise ferry to be built in seven sub-blocks, extensive coordina- tion was needed with other contractors ‘boom’ ABB reports it is well prepared for the emergence China. The 13-deck, 2,800-passenger, 63,000-gt vessel is and Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBS). of Chinese-built cruise ships. The ? rst of two 4,980-passen- being built at Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry and is sched-

From the start the project was proceed- ger-capacity Chinese-built cruise ships for Carnival Corp, uled to deliver in 2020. There is an option for a second cruise ing to plan, and for its part the ALMACO to be built by the Fincantieri China State Shipbuilding Corp ferry, too.

modular cabins were ready on schedule, (CSSC) joint venture, serve notice of a potential shift in the From ABB’s perspective this contract is particularly no- as ALMACO had built them during the cruise shipbuilding industry that to date has been dominated table as it is the ? rst speci? cation of Azipod propulsion in three weeks prior in its innovative Mo- by Europe. The mammoth new ships will be delivered un- a cruise-ferry application, with the Azipod units delivered bile Cabin Factory concept at a nearby warehouse.

der a new Carnival brand speci? cally for the Chinese market from Helsinki. Classed by DNV-GL, the ship will feature

But on October 4, 2017, only a few from a new Shanghai Waigaoqiao yard cruise shipbuilding Azipod XO units designed to match the ship’s ice class 1A days after starting the work at GBS, the zone. “Chinese shipbuilding is one of the most signi? cant Super notation. The newly developed two-stage turbocharg- project came to a halt as the Category 5 markets for ABB’s power and automation systems, Azipod ing Power2 800-M will also be applied on this vessel.

Hurricane Irma targeted the Caribbean propulsion units and turbochargers,” said Alf Kåre Ådnanes, “The Viking cruise ferry is a very advanced project,” said with the thread of winds up to 185 mph. head of ABB’s Marine and Ports business in China. “Chinese Marcus Högblom, Vice President of Global Sales, Passen- “For the ? rst time in ALMACO’s history, shipyards are diversifying their portfolios and ABB’s long ger vessels and Azipod propulsion. “Although the ship will a project that initially involved building, lifting and installing modular cabins on history in the icebreaking and cruise sectors is particularly have a car deck, it will be as technologically advanced as a board a ship, now required for the same relevant to China’s ship builders. We are part of the exist- cruise ship, if not more. We are applying the very same stan- modular cabins to be of? oaded from the ing shipping cluster and can support Chinese shipyards in dards as we would to a European-built cruise ship in terms of vessel,” said Hervé Touzard, ALMACO’s their strategy to build cruise vessels for China and for global the complete power and electrical distribution systems, and

VP, Marine After Sales. “This was obvi- customers.” the propulsion plant.” ously not part of the original plan! AL-

Ådnanes suggests ABB is in a unique position. “As well Globally, ABB Turbocharging has a strong position in the

MACO’s project management team had as being the leading supplier of electrical propulsion sys- cruise ship market that is highly relevant to the emergent to adapt to this new situation, removing tems for passenger vessels, we have made deliveries for over Chinese luxury vessel market, said Paolo Tremuli, Senior the cabins from the Carnival Elation, and securing them back at the Mobile Cabin 200 vessels to yards in China, many of which are highly ad- Application Manager, ABB Turbocharging. Power density

Factory.” vanced - such as research vessels, icebreakers and offshore and engine ef? ciency are key demands for cruise vessels, he

After securing all lose materials and vessels. We also have production up and running in China explains, and these are applications that contribute to new preparing the vessel for sailing, ALMACO that supplies generators, motors and switchboards – many generation engine technology. To support these develop- and the rest of the teams working on of the key components that are already being used by the ments, the ABB turbocharger portfolio has been extended, the project at GBS embarked on a 7-day

European yards.” through competitive one-stage and two-stage solutions. The journey of undocking, cruising at the

While the cruise ship building business in China is in its in- A100-M and the Power2 800-M series, respectively, are ex- furthest possible distance from Irma’s path, and docking again to restart the fancy, ABB’s experience in the country is mature. ABB – as amples of such solutions applied in this market segment.

work. Due to the extreme weather, con- a group – has been present in China for more than 110 years, “Keeping cruise ships at high occupancy and operating on ditions onboard the ship were challeng- with its immersion taking in R&D activities, manufacturing, tight schedules, will remain the number one requirement for ing, but the team continued working as sales and services across 80 cities. cruise ship owners and operators,” Tremuli said. Central to best possible.

ABB Turbocharging has been in China for decades, es- the effort is the ongoing development within ABB of new

With the storm passed and the ship tablishing relationships and a joint venture in 2006 between and evolving lifecycle solutions, an effort which includes back at the yard, ALMACO delivered the

ABB China and CSIC-Chongqing Jiangjin Turbo & Charger harnessing the rapidly evolving layers of digital technolo- cabins and completed area courtesy of seven additional dry dock days and

Machinery Co., Ltd. The Center of Excellence for produc- gies. “For our turbocharging solutions, this means no com- ongoing work during the ? rst couple of tion of ABB turbochargers, plus six turbocharger service sta- promise on safety and reliability while maintaining uptime cruises.

tions and three service points across the country contribute to and performance in operations.” 56 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • FEBRUARY 2018

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