The Star Cruises of Malaysia has chosen Metso to refurbish the automation system on its MS Star Pisces cruise ship that sails in the Far East.
The vessel's new automation will increase reliability and customer comfort. After docking in Hong Kong in February, the vessel will continue its cruise program from March 2013 onwards.
Metso will supply its state-of-the-art Metso DNA system to replace the present Damatic Classic automation system that it had supplied earlier. Ship automation systems from Metso have a long history. The automation systems called Damatic Classic from the early 1980's have developed into today's Metso DNA.
The new system will handle machinery automation, including the power management system for four diesel generators. The delivery includes operator stations, redundant process control stations, I/O units, an information management system, and remote diagnostics access.
MS Star Pisces, with a gross tonnage of 40,000, has a passenger capacity of 1,081 with its 626 cabins. It was built in 1990 at the Masa Yards, Turku, Finland, under the name MS Kalypso. In 1994, she was purchased by the Star Cruises Limited (today Genting Hong Kong Limited) for cruising in Southeast Asia.
With its 50% ownership of the Norwegian Cruise Lines, Genting Hong Kong Limited is the third largest cruise ship owner in the world. The combination of the Star Cruises and the Norwegian Cruise Lines has a combined fleet of 18 ships that visit over 200 destinations in the world, offering approximately 35,000 lower berths.
To date, Metso has delivered for ships close to 800 automation systems based on its technology platform.These systems are designed for advanced ship types, such as cruise liners. In particular, redundancy features and high product quality that guarantee safe and undisturbed ship operations have contributed to the success of Metso's automation systems.