Gas Turbines Continue Making Commercial Inroads

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). GE's Commercial Marine Activity Remains Strong 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. The MDV 3000 program uses GE LM2500 gas turbines on the Capricorn, Scorpio, Aries and Taurus fast ferries. These vessels operate in the summer months on the Civitavecchia-to-Sardinia Island and Genoa-to-Sardinia Island routes in Italy. The MDV 3000 are the world's largest fast ferries, and were built by Fincantieri, Genoa, Italy for Tirrenia Lines. With total power output at more than 70 MW per vessel, the ferries are capable of reaching speeds in excess of 40 knots, and can carry 1,800 passengers and 460 vehicles. Another operation has 12 LM aeroderivative gas turbines in service on the three Highspeed Sea Service (HSS) fast ferries — Stena Explorer, Stena Voyager and Stena Discovery — since April 1996, July 1996 and June 1997, respectively. Owner Stena Line AB, Gothenburg, Sweden, operates the HSS ferries on the Irish Sea between the United Kingdom and The Netherlands. Each semi-swath fast ferry has two LM1600 and two LM2500 gas turbines in a COmbined Gas and Gas turbine (COGAG) configuration. Combined the LM1600 and LM2500 gas turbines aboard the three vessels have logged more than 165,800 hours in service.

Built by Finnyards in Rauma, Finland, the HSS fast ferries measure 413 x 131 ft. (126 x 40 m). Each vessel can achieve speeds of more than 40 knots and have the capacity for 1,500 passengers, 375 cars, or 50 trucks and 100 cars. GE continues to make inroads into the cruise industry with its gas turbines operating in either combined gas turbine and steam turbine integrated electric drive system (COGES) or CODAG arrangements. For instance, GE recently announced that Cunard Line selected two LM2500+ gas turbines in a CODADG configuration with four diesels for Queen Mary 2. This transatlantic liner will be the world's largest passenger vessel upon completion in 2003. To date, GE has supplied COGES propulsion systems for Celebrity Cruises' three Millennium class vessels, as well as Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas. Each system features two LM2500+ aeroderivative gas turbines. GE recently full load tested and shipped two LM2500 gas turbine-generator from its Houston facility to Fincantieri Cantieri Navali's shipyard in Italy. The units, along with three other LM2500s, will be used by this Carnival Corporation unit for five new cruise ships. One LM2500 turbine-generator set will be applied per ship, operating in parallel with one or more of the five diesel generators on board.