Aero Gas Turbine Technology News

The new Rolls-Royce Marine Trent 30 gas turbine is designed to bring technologically driven Trent aero engine innovation to the cruise industry. Available for service in either mechanical or electrical genset applications for both commercial and naval markets, the Trent 30 will be available for delivery in 2004. Boasting a power rating of 36 MW and cost effective, the turbine is ideal for cruise liners, fast ferries and LNG vessels. The Trent 30 offers propulsion system designers optimum flexibility as it can replace the need for two turbines, thus saving on space and reducing operating and ownership costs. Measuring 8.9 x 3.5 x 4.3 m, it is lightweight and compact, its total package including enclosure and auxiliaries, weighing less than 26,000 kg.

Spanish shipbuilder and designer IZAR and Rolls-Royce announced plans for a new European High Speed Cargo Vessel which is intended to be a cost-effective short-sea shipping alternative to road transport in Europe. The monohull EHSCV is powered by two Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines and Rolls-Royce Kamewa waterjets. The baseline design enables 124 trailers to be carried at a service speed of 37 knots and is intended to be economically competitive with road transport on routes above 300 nautical miles. The design meets the needs of ship owners wishing to develop fleet plans in line with the European Union's Marco Polo program, which is designed to give financial support to projects which improve the environmental performance of Europe's freight transport system.

The actual extent of European public funding to promote a modal shift from road to waterborne transportation has up until now — been far outweighed by political discourse on the subject — no doubt designed to appeal to the popular, environmentalist vote. However, a recently more pragmatic approach by government to the issue, coupled with the maritime industries' development of new technical solutions for efficient, intra-regional freight exchange, suggests that the tide might be turning in favor of short-sea shipping. An appreciation that economic and environmental considerations are increasingly intertwined, and that environmental performance bears more and more on competitive position…