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66 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? APRIL 2013 FAST. SAFE. RELIABLE . Vessel & Rig Repair info@malinshiprepair.com www.malinshiprepair.com A Lorton Marine Company Serving the Galveston-Houston area, Malin International Ship Repair & Drydock is a full service topside repair facility ready to handle your scheduled or emergency repairs. r Rigs, Drillships, OSVs r GOM Oshore Repair/Riding Crews r Full service machine shop r 7000 SF fabrication shop GE?s Power Conversion business an- nounced that the latest addition to the MSC Cruises? ß eet, MSC Preziosa, has completed sea trials. The ship is one of the newest cruise ships that is part of a growing global electri-Þ cation trend that replaces mechanical equip- ment with electrical power generation and propulsion technology. Over the last year, passenger vessels have experienced a growth rate of 3.3% with 20.9 million passengers in 2012. The growth forecast for the next Þ ve years is projected to be 3% with six new ships being built per year for the next three years. As operational costs rise and new environ-mental legislation is implemented, so too grows the demand for technical solutions that address both. A still emerging trend is the steady increase in the number of cruise ships utilizing pod propulsion technology. In addi- tion, the need to reduce emissions and fuel consumption is driving ship owners and op-erators to specify propulsion systems that can deliver signiÞ cant savings. With GE?s power solutions and propulsion systems, shipown-ers are offered some strong advantages such as more space, less weight, improved hull ef-Þ ciency, lower vibration and noise as well as reduced service costs and down time. MSC Cruises is evidence of the global ef-Þ ciency trend, having built four new ships with STX Europe in the past four years with the most recent, MSC Preziosa; which will have an ?A? Shipping Ef Þ ciency ranking, the same as its sister ship, MSC Divina. STX Eu-rope selected GE Power Conversion for the design, manufacturing and commissioning of the propulsion system, Þ ve generators and six thrusters for MSC Preziosa.Built from the STX yard in Saint-Nazaire, France, MSC Preziosa is the latest ship in MSC?s Fantasia class and the 12th in the MSC ß eet. The vessel has successfully com- pleted a series of sea trials including propul-sion and maneuverability (speed ranges, full speed, crash stop, power plant and propulsion interactions, full/partial propulsion conÞ gu-rations) as well as noise and vibration mea-surements.In addition, GE Power Conversion has de-veloped transformer-less systems and vari- able frequency networks. Transformer-less system are induction motors with PWM con-verters that are lighter and take up less space to deliver power with high efÞ ciency. Due to the variable frequency network, the propul-sion chain can be driven by diesel motors that can deliver signiÞ cant fuel savings. Propul- sion is delivered through fully rotating pods for increased hydrodynamics and better ma-neuverability. NEWSPRODUCTSGE Power Conversion?s for Cruise ShipsPhoto credit: Bernard BIGER STX France MR #4 (66-74).indd 66MR #4 (66-74).indd 664/3/2013 11:30:01 AM4/3/2013 11:30:01 AM
