Royal Caribbean has ordered azipods from ABB to provide the propulsion to its very secret new class of cruise ships known as Project Sunshine. The $60 million deal will provide complete power and propulsion to the two new cruise ships that are being built by Meyer Werft for Royal Caribbean.
ABB announced that the order for the first shop was booked in 2011 and the second vessel's azipods were ordered in the first quarter of 2012.
The Project Sunshine cruise ships are a brand new class of cruise ships that Royal Caribbean is developing, that will be 158,000-gt and handle about 4,100 passengers.
ABB will supply a complete electrical systems for the new ships, the delivery for each ship includes power generation and distribution systems, thruster motors, and two 20.5MW propulsion systems including transformers, drives and two Azipod XO propulsion units. The Azipod propulsion is claimed to use less fuel than traditional systems, and to provide greater maneuverability in all operating conditions.
ABB says that its deliverables will maximize the ships fuel efficiency, speed and maneuverability while reducing emissions and providing reliable power to the ships. All of this will help Royal Caribbean meet its energy efficiency and environmental impact targets.
