First Mermaid Pods Installed

Shipyard ALSTOM awarded ALSTOM Drives & Controls and Kamewa a contract to supply electric propulsion packages for the four Millennium series cruise ships for Celebrity Cruises — a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean International — the first two Mermaid propulsion systems have been successfully mounted on the first ship. In not more than 24 hours, the two Mermaids have been adjusted in the drydock then the ship was moved into the wetdock for testing. Each Mermaid has a rated power of 19,500 kW - 150 rpm, which constitutes a world first in the field of podded electric propulsion solutions. Mermaid is the new podded electric propulsion system jointly developed by ALSTOM and Kamewa. The Mermaid housings are built by Kamewa and include ALSTOM electric motors supplied by ALSTOM power electronics equipment. To date, ALSTOM and Kamewa have received orders for 30 Mermaid units.