Integrated Propulsion Systems News

Alaska-based marine services frim Cook Inlet Tug & Barge said it has added another harbor tug to its fleet. The Dr Hank Kaplan is now homeported in Anchorage, where it entered service earlier this month.Built in 2017 by Diversified Marine Incorporated of Portland, Ore., the vessel is a RAmparts-2400 series tugboat designed by Robert Allan Ltd. The 5,350-hp tug is the first RAmparts-2400 built in North America with Caterpillar integrated propulsion systems featuring CAT engines and z-drives.

Fincantieri Marine Systems North America (FMSNA) has entered into a teaming agreement with Motor-Services Hugo Stamp (MSHS). MSHS distributes a wide range of products for the maritime and stationary power industries. FMSNA provides integrated propulsion systems, engineering, and sustainment services to government and commercial markets.The strategic alliance between the two will add in-demand engine lines and components to the distributor’s product offering, and also will expand the reach and service network for FMSNA integrated marine systems and components. The expanded service capability, located in key fleet concentration areas,…

Volvo Penta informs it has signed an agreement to become the major owner of U.S. based outboard motor manufacturer, Seven Marine, enabling the Swedish company to extend its scope of integrated propulsion systems. “With this acquisition, Volvo Penta is entering the outboard motor segment,” said Volvo Penta president, Björn Ingemanson. Volvo Penta said the deal will broaden its technology platform, while Seven Marine will be able to further develop its existing outboard technology to satisfy a wider range of needs for its customer base.

The Hybrid Marine Power & Propulsion Conference being held at the RNLI College in Poole, U.K., October 6-8, will bring together an international group of experts armed with the latest knowledge that will assist the sub IMO professional sector to understand the possibilities of utilizing hybrid systems. The aim is to identify the potential for hybrid systems for specific sectors, including diesel / electric / battery for workboats, pilot boats, survey vessels, wind farm support vessels, superyacht tenders, patrol craft, military and unmanned craft.

In 2015 two significant developments are going to make many operators, owners and builders of professional vessels consider hybrid marine power. First, the new emissions laws in ports and second, there is now an incentive for high technology manufacturers to invest in developing highly efficient batteries. Hybrid is ‘here and now’ technology that is being utilized by many industries around the world. The marine industry is now recognizng the potential of utilizing hybrid power and innovative propulsion systems for vessels in the sub IMO / sub 24 meter (80 feet) professional sector.

Two new 150-ton-bollard-pull anchor handling offshore support vessels (AHOSVs) being built at the Colombo Dockyard in Sri Lanka have been designed by Wärtsilä and will be powered by Wärtsilä integrated propulsion systems. The order was placed in August and the equipment is scheduled for fast-track delivery in July 2015. The 78-meter-long vessels will be employed for anchor handling operations in offshore sector applications. The propulsion system selected for the vessels will include a nine-cylinder Wärtsilä 32 engine operating on marine diesel oil (MDO).

Wärtsilä, the marine industry's leading solutions and services provider, has been awarded the contract to supply the engines and complete propulsion systems for two newbuild vessel projects. The order includes a total of 28 engines for 14 vessels being built for the Kuwait Oil Company, and represents a major order for Wärtsilä from a Middle East based marine sector customer. The Wärtsilä propulsion solutions will be installed in nine 80 ton Bollard Pull (BP) tugboats, and five 50 ton BP tugboats, being built at the Damen shipyard in Holland.

Commercial and military users of electric propulsion systems have experienced failures of the variable frequency drive (VFD) and harmonic filter (HF) systems because the system design, including the VFD, did not have adequate self-monitoring and protection. On a ship, a variable-frequency drive (VFD) can be used to control the speed and direction of rotational motors, such as pumps, propellers and azipod systems. In some cases, these failures have resulted in catastrophic equipment failures causing arcing, fire and explosions of capacitors. In September of 2010, the Cunard Carnival cruise ship RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) was underway in the Mediterranean when an explosion occurred in the aft main switchboard room resulting from the failure of one of 12 capacitors in a harmonic filter…

Lord Bach of Lutterworth, Minister for Defense Procurement for the U.K., visited ALSTOM Power Conversion last week to review the company’s progress on two major defense related projects. He went to Rugby to see the propulsion equipment and test facility for the first of the Royal Navy’s new Type 45 Destroyers, HMS Daring, and then visited the Electric Ship Technology Demonstrator (ESTD) at ALSTOM in Whetstone, Leicestershire. In April 2001, ALSTOM was awarded the contract to design and manufacture the electrical and power management systems…

Lord Bach of Lutterworth, Minister for Defense Procurement for the U.K., visited ALSTOM Power Conversion last week to review the company’s progress on two major defense related projects. He went to Rugby to see the propulsion equipment and test facility for the first of the Royal Navy’s new Type 45 Destroyers, HMS Daring, and then visited the Electric Ship Technology Demonstrator (ESTD) at ALSTOM in Whetstone, Leicestershire. In April 2001, ALSTOM was awarded the contract to design and manufacture the electrical and power management systems, and to perform combined testing of the propulsion converters and advanced induction motors for the T45 Destroyer electric propulsion system.

John Crane-Lips will become part of Wärtsilä following the signing of the sale and purchase agreement between Wärtsilä and John Crane-Lips´ UK-based parent Smiths Group. The transaction enhances Wärtsilä's position as a global ship power supplier and provider of integrated propulsion systems. The acquisition price is approximately $304 million. in the financial year ending July 31, 2001, with their net assets totaling $73 million. The acquisition of John Crane-Lips, which will operate within Wärtsilä under the name Wärtsilä Propulsion, marks an important step towards our strategic goal to lead the ship power market. The acquisition will be earnings neutral and cash flow positive in the first year, stated Wärtsilä's President and CEO Ole Johansson.

GE Marine Engines has been supplying integrated propulsion systems for a variety of commercial and military marine customers for more than 25 years. GE's complete line of aeroderivative gas turbines includes the LM500 (6,000 hp), LM1600 (20,000 hp), the LM2500 (33,600 hp), the LM2500+ (40,500 hp) and the LM6000 (57,330 hp). For instance, the first gas turbine-powered fast ferry in Greece entered service in the summer of 2001. This Corsaire 14000-class monohull is powered by two GE LM2500+ gas turbines in a combined diesel and gas turbine (CODAG) arrangement with two diesel engines. The ship was built for operator Maritime Company of Levos (NEL), Piraeus, Greece, by Alstom Leroux Naval Shipyard in France.

Consolidation in the maritime industry is not something new. In the past five years, oil majors such as Exxon and Mobil, and BP, Amoco and Arco have all consolidated. Shipyards haven't been immune to mergers, either; as Halter was purchased by Friede Goldman; and Litton Ingalls consolidated with Avondale. But, when equipment manufacturers begin to consolidate, the effects aren't quite as obvious. In the past five years, Caterpillar acquired MaK and, more recently, Sabre. And Rolls-Royce has joined the buying frenzy with such zeal and aggression, it's almost easier to list companies not owned by the propulsion giant. Part of the ambiguity of the merger between equipment manufacturers is, typically, the existing product line is still maintained; just owned and distributed by the new company.

In a move which firmly signals that marine propulsion power consolidation of resource is far from complete, Wärtsilä NSD and TI Group, on behalf of John Crane-Lips, signed of a co-operation agreement to develop, market and supply total marine propulsion power systems to the shipbuilding industry. Agreement has also been reached for TI Group to purchase Wärtsilä NSD's propeller production and related servicing business at Rubbestadneset, Norway, with approximately 120 employees transferring from Wärtsilä NSD Norway to John Crane-Lips. The co-operation agreement follows the signing of a Letter of Intent in February and is subject to clearance by the appropriate regulatory authorities. Wärtsilä NSD and John Crane-Lips have significant complementary strengths.

Alstom Diesel engines and its three well-regarded brands — Mirrlees Blackstone, Paxman and Ruston — were recently bought by MAN B&W. Several recent deals have confirmed the continuing trend towards a consolidation of resources in the realm of marine propulsion equipment. The trend, to regular followers of the industry, is hardly a new development. However, a spate of recent new deals and consummations has brought the topic to the forefront again. As reported in the June 2000 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, the emergence of Rolls Royce as a major force in the field of marine propusion is solidified with a collection of brand name equipment suppliers. The U.K.

As part of the drift of heavy industrial activity from Europe to the Far East, production of two-stroke diesel propulsion machinery has become the province of the leading national players in newbuild construction. However, close to the northern tip of Jutland, MAN B&W's Alpha Diesel division has restored a substantial Danish capability for low-speed engine manufacturing, to the extent that its Frederikshavn works has emerged as a bastion of European two-stroke production. The extension in the market reach of the already diversified plant, renowned for its integrated propulsion packages based on four-stroke drives, is a clear endorsement of the substantial investments made by MAN B&W in dedicated facilities in recent years. It is no less an expression of industrial and commercial will.

Italian shipbuilding powerhouse Fincantieri has formed a new company, Fincantieri Marine Systems North America, Inc. FDGM, Inc., the U.S.-based subsidiary of Fincantieri, will be absorbed by this new company. The establishment of this new company is part of the vision of the Fincantieri CEO Giuseppe Bono to enlarge its presence in the global maritime market. Drawing on the vast resources of the parent company and forming strategic partnerships with other U.S. companies, Fincantieri Marine Systems North America, Inc. is uniquely qualified to provide fully engineered and integrated propulsion systems and machinery plant solutions to the U.S. shipbuilding industry for naval and commercial vessels. Service to the U.S.

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. Code-named "project enviroengine," prototypes of the new engine are expected to be available later this year for laboratory testing and are expected to be available commercially in 2001. Following successful completion of testing, Carnival plans to utilize those engines on its future newbuilds.

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. Code-named "project enviroengine," prototypes of the new engine are expected to be available later this year for laboratory testing and are expected to be available commercially in 2001. Following successful completion of testing, Carnival plans to utilize those engines on its future newbuilds.