Alstom Marine News

MAVCO has been awarded the contract to design, supply and install a range of audio, video, lighting and effect systems in over twenty venues on board a third Crystal Cruises ship. Commissioned by ALSTOM Marine Chantiers de l’Antantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France, MAVCO will be involved with the complete contract for local entertainment systems. Scheduled for delivery in late June 2003, the unnamed 68,000-ton vessel will see an increased number of Crystal Cruises’ most successful features, including more entertainment lounges, expanding on the best of Crystal Harmony and Crystal Symphony. The scope of the project ahead for MAVCO incorporates detailed system design, supply, installation and commissioning shared between the company’s offices in Miami and the U.K.

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)has given the go-ahead for construction of a new generation of ships by signing an order with Alstom Marine for two cruise ships and the option for a third sister ship. The first of the new ships will be delivered in June 2006, and the second will become ready in spring 2007. MSC Crociere is thus continuing to expand its fleet, and getting ready to tackle the 2004 Mediterranean season as the true leader of cruises. The new order carries the only totally Italian company into the world cruise scene, presenting itself on the market with an increasingly satisfactory and competitive fleet: 3 ships up until 2002, 4 in 2003, 5 in 2004 and the new order that increases the number of ships to 7 by 2007, with an eighth ship as option.

The supplier frame agreement is made between Alfa Laval and Euroship, a group of European shipyards made up of Chantiers de l’Atlantique, Alstom Marine of France, Fincantieri S. p. A. of Italy, Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft and Jos. L. Meyer Werft of Germany and Izar Construcciones Navales S. A. of Spain. The frame agreement covers supplies of fuel oil and lube oil separator modules for the new constructions built at the Euroship yards. The aim is to co-ordinate standards between Alfa Laval and Euroship so that supplies can be specified and shipped according to agreed standards, thereby improving delivery times and lowering costs for all parties involved.

Radisson Seven Seas' 700-passenger Seven Seas Mariner will enter dry-dock for 24 days this month to undergo repairs to one of the two pods in its pod propulsion system - a significant design innovation that creates a smoother, quieter ride for guests but has also required adjustment in most of the new ships employing the advanced 21st century technology. As a result, the line has had to cancel the vessel's April 22, 26 and May 9 cruises. The vessel is expected to return to service on May 26, where it will commence a seven-night voyage from Venice to Rome. The unscheduled dry-dock is viewed as a preventive as well as corrective measure.

Mediterranean Shipping Co had exercised an option with Alstom for a second 793-cabin cruise liner to be delivered in 2004. Although Alstom declined to give the value of the contract, industry sources put the value of the liner in the region of 300 million euros ($279.1 million). The company’s Alstom Marine unit now has 11 cruise ships in its order book.

Alstom will be the first company in the world to install electric propulsion technology on a Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) carrier, which is being built at ALSTOM's Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in France for the French utility Gaz de France. The use of this technology on an LNG ship follows the company's successes in electric propulsion for cruise ships, chemical tankers and other types of merchant and naval vessels. The LNG ship, with a capacity of 74,000 cubic metres, will be delivered to Gaz de France by the end of 2004. It will be propelled through a variable frequency main propulsion system, via a gearbox. The electric drive principally consists of two 9,550 kW, 1,200 rpm synchronous motors, supplied by two synchroconverters associated with a propulsion control and monitoring system.

Aker Yards and Alstom announced their intention to join forces in shipbuilding in which the companies would establish a new company consisting of the shipyards in Saint-Nazaire and Lorient. Aker Yards would own 75 percent of this new company and Alstom would commit itself to keep the remaining 25 percent until 2010. The transaction would enable continuity in management and the actions taken as part of the “Marine 2010“ performance improvement and cost reduction program already under implementation in ALSTOM Marine. The transaction would have no direct impact on employment. By being part of Aker Yards, the new company would benefit from a broadened product range and strong industrial synergies.

Aker Yards and ALSTOM will join forces in shipbuilding, seeking to create a shipbuilding leader focused on high value added ships, including cruise ships. The companies plan to establish a new company consisting of the shipyards in Saint-Nazaire and Lorient. Aker Yards will own 75 percent of the new company, and ALSTOM will keep the remaining 25 percent until 2010. Aker Yards currently has 13 yards in five countries. The new company will offer some unique synergies, particularly on the cruise market segment, where Italy’s Fincantieri has dominated in recent years. The combined French and Finnish builders have produced a number of world class cruise ships through the years, including icons such as SS France, Queen Mary 2, the Voyager class and the Freedom class ships.

Alstom signed a contract worth $1.17B to build two cruise ships for Italian line MSC in a deal which might avert restructuring of its shipbuilding business following the near bankruptcy of the group last year. The order for the ships, which will each measure 1,106 ft. in length and offer 1,650 cabins, was signed by the chief executive of MSC, Pierre Francesco Vago and his counterpart from Alstom Marine, Patrick Boissier, during a press conference on Monday. The giant liners will be slightly smaller than the 345-metre Queen Mary 2, the biggest cruise ship in the world. They will be built in the shipyard in the French port of Saint Nazaire where the Queen Mary 2 was launched last year.

built when it goes into service in 2003. controlled vessels in the world - a 14.9 metre long multipurpose catamaran. Norway. environmental concerns about damage to the local eco-system. locations for tendering. conditions. positioning with a broad range of automation functions. system, which can be operated from three points on the vessel. speed with Doppler log and 'relaxed DP'. generation and propulsion equipment. propulsion system - the first four-pod installation to date. noise and vibration levels.

Paul English, sales and business development manager for Alstom's Marine and Offshore activities, looks back at the company's role in the development of Dynamic Positioning Systems. In recent years, dynamic positioning (DP) systems have become almost as accepted a feature of certain types of marine and offshore vessels as autopilot. DP — which automatically controls a ship's heading and station keeping (either a fixed or moving target) while minimizing thruster activity — has considerably expanded the options for shipowners/operators whose vessels remain at sea for long periods of time, often in deep water and in areas where laying anchors is either not an option due to seabed structures, or impractical because of timescales.

platform supply vessels which are being built in the U.S. Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co. Inc. electrical propulsion and control systems for the 210-ft. which will be based in the Gulf of Mexico. facility in Houston, Texas. variable speed drive trains. allowing flexibility during the design phases of the project. past. The first vessel is due to be delivered in March 2004.