Ship Propulsion

Northrop Grumman Readies New Gas Turbine For Market

As the use of gas turbines as main ship's propulsion power continues to grow in popularity, particularly in the niche vessel segments of cruise shipping and rapid transport, Northrop Grumman recently announced that its WR-21 Intercooled Recuperated (ICR) advanced-cycle gas turbine ship propulsion engine has begun final development tests for the market which has most widely used the product in ship propulsion applications — naval. The engine, which is being developed for naval warship applications through a team led by Northrop Grumman, is being put through its final paces at a naval facility in Philadelphia. England's Rolls-Royce is designing and developing the gas generator and power turbines, while AlliedSignal's Aerospace Systems & Equipment Group in Los Angeles is providing the Intercooler and Recuperator Heat-Exchanger Cores. The WR-21 is touted particularly for its fuel efficiency, as it will reportedly reduce both operation and support costs significantly while keeping the naval ships it serves battle ready. To date, it is a candidate for the U.S. Navy's DD-21 program and for European advanced combatants. "In initial tests, the WR-21 has already demonstrated a 25 percent annual propulsion fuel savings, compared to the existing gas turbine engines on a typical Navy destroyer," said Jim Hupton, vice president, Northrop Grumman Marine Systems

UK Government's Vessel Funding Competition Explained

IMarEST Ship Propulsion Systems Conference speaker explains the government's new initiative in advance of upcoming meeting. The UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is shortly to announce the launch of a competition into vessel efficiency, with up to £8 million of funding available, opening for expressions of interest in January 2013.  In view of the theme of the 3rd IMarEST Ship Propulsion Systems Conference (London, 20-21 November 2012), Andrew Tate

LR LNG Fleet Tops 100

Recent orders of classification services for six liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships have resulted in a milestone for Lloyd’s Register: more than 100 LNG ships now exist or are being built to Lloyd’s Register class, which is significant because the new ships (two for Teekay Shipping and four for BP Shipping at Hyundai Heavy Industries) will feature dual-fuel engines, a recent innovation in LNG ship propulsion. Lloyd’s Register currently classes 37% of the LNG fleet worldwide with a total of

AMSC Awarded $10M ONR Contract

American Superconductor Corporation announced that it has finalized a contract amendment with the United States Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR). Contract terms include an approval for a $10 million increase to AMSC's contract to design and build a 36.5 megawatt (MW) high temperature superconductor (HTS) propulsion motor for electric warships. The amendment adds $10 million to AMSC's backlog. AMSC also expects an additional contract modification to be completed by ONR within the next

AMSC Gets $13.3M Amendment from ONR

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:AMSC) has finalized an additional contract amendment with the United States Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR). Under the terms of the amendment, the ONR has approved a $13.3 million increase to AMSC's contract for the design, manufacture and shipment of a factory-tested 36.5-megawatt (MW) (49,000 horsepower) high temperature superconductor (HTS) propulsion motor for electric warships. The amendment adds $13

HTS Propulsion Thrusters Project Gets $3.1M Boost

American Superconductor Corporation received a third contract valued at $3.1 million from the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR) to continue the design and development of high temperature superconducting (HTS) motors and related subsystems for electric ship propulsion. The company expects to complete this contract within the next nine months, and anticipates receiving additional contracts from the Navy leading to initial sea trials of an HTS propulsion system by the end of 2003.

AMSC, Northrop Grumman Superconductor

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), an  energy technologies company, and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announced the successful completion of full-power testing of the world’s first 36.5 megawatt (49,000 horsepower) high temperature superconductor (HTS) ship propulsion motor at the U.S. Navy’s Integrated Power System Land-Based Test Site in Philadelphia. This is the first successful fullpower test of an electric propulsion motor sized for a large

Matthias Grawe to Head Business Division Industry

Matthias Grawe  took over at the helm of the Division Industry at Voith Turbo on March 1. The graduate engineer has been working for Voith Turbo for ten years, most recently as Head of the Product Group Variable-Speed Drives at the location Crailsheim. After studying process technology at Stuttgart University, followed by a study course in energy management at Grenoble University, Grawe gained international experience in a number of renowned companies

Carnival, Wärtsilä Clearing The Air

As the world's cruise lines grow exponentially larger and are increasingly falling under the gaze of environmental and regulatory bodies, the push to ensure that ships are run safely, efficiently and environmentally sound gains new importance each day. The world's largest cruise ship company - Carnival Corporation (CCL) - has hooked up with one of the premier builders of marine diesel engines - Wärtsilä NSD - to develop a smokeless diesel-electric propulsion system for cruise ships.

Azipod Slip Ring Order for Cavotec

Cavotec wins order from ABB for twenty compact Marine Propulsion Slip ring (MPS) units to be fitted to advanced Azipod marine propulsion systems. Under the terms of this project, Cavotec is scheduled to complete deliveries of the MPS units to ABB by the beginning of Q2 2013. Cavotec MPS units, fitted to Azipod systems, enable vessel propellers to rotate through 360 degrees in its vertical axis thus providing steering