In addition, a COGES ship has significantly fewer auxiliary system components, support piping, valves and automation points. Less equipment translates into lower installation and operating costs associated with a COGES ship. It has been found that a COGES arrangements requires some 90 fewer machinery-related major components, 30 fewer pumps, 5,600 meters less piping and ducting, 150 tonnes less piping weight, 350 fewer valves in machinery piping, and 800 fewer automation points than for a medium speed diesel plant.
3.2 Holland America Line
Gas turbines have also been selected for the cruise industry's first CODAG configured cruise ships.
Holland America Line (HAL) for four new cruise ships will use four GE LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbine-generator sets. The vessels will be built by the shipyard, Fincantieri Cantieri Navali, S.p.A., Trieste, Italy for this unit of Carnival Corporation.
One LM2500 turbine-generator set will be applied per ship, operating in parallel with one or more of the five diesel generators on board. This configuration will allow the vessels to operate in environmentally sensitive areas using clean gas turbine power. The ships also will use a podded drive propulsion system, allowing for greater maneuverability and enhanced operating efficiencies.
Each LM2500 will operate approximately 2,500 hours per year fueled by Marine Gas Oil. The gas turbines will be arranged with a low-pressure waste heat boiler tapping into the ship's steam system.
The new 84,000-ton vessels will be constructed at Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard in Venice, Italy. These 951-foot-long ships are part of a new series of vessels for HAL.
3.3 Fast Ferries
The trend in the fast ferry market is towards larger vessels with more capacity, operating at speeds over 40 knots. This direction for larger catamarans requires total power over 50 megawatts, divided into two systems for the two catamaran hulls. A considerable advantage in volume, weight, and cost can be realized if that power can be provided by a single gas turbine in each hull.
For instance, two GE LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines provided the main propulsion for the new Austal-built fast ferry H/F Villum Clausen, a catamaran hull design, which recently set a new world' s distance record.
The two LM2500 gas turbines performed well as this fast ferry set a record for the longest distance traveled in a 24-hour period by a commercial passenger vessel. The record was noted during a sea voyage between Malaysia and India while the fast ferry was enroute to Denmark for delivery to operator Bornholms Trafikken.
The fast ferry traveled 1,060 nautical miles at an average speed of 44 knots with a maximum speed of 47 knots. This beat the previous world record by 50 nautical miles. Austal Ships in Western Australia built the H/F Villum Clausen.
The fast ferry entered commercial service between Denmark and Sweden in the Summer of 2000. The 86-meter vessel can carry 1,037 passengers and 186 cars, with a service speed of 41 knots. This project marks the first time an Australian shipyard used the LM2500 for a commercial marine propulsion application. However, 24 LM2500 gas turbines are used to power the Australian Navy's ANZAC and Adelaide class frigates.
Another fast ferry class will use two GE LM2500+ aeroderivative gas turbines. The units will be used to power the Corsaire 14000-class monohull fast ferry being built for operator, Maritime Company of Lesvos (NEL), Piraeus, Greece. This will be the first GE gas turbine-powered fast ferry slated to operate in Greece. The Greek Navy currently uses GE's LM2500 gas turbines in their fleet of modern frigates.
Alstom Leroux Naval Shipyard in France is building this new class of fast ferry for NEL. The same shipyard built the Corsaire 13000-class monohull fast ferry that uses two LM2500+ gas turbines. Societe Nationale Maritime Corse Mediterranee (SNCM) placed the Corsaire 13000 into service in June 2000, Marseille, France.
For the Corsaire 14000, the LM2500+ gas turbines will be used in a CODAG configuration with two diesel engines. Total propulsion system output will be 66 megawatts. The 140-meter long fast ferry will be designed to carry 1,800 passengers and 442 cars or 38 trucks or 125 cars plus 80 motor bikes, with a cruising speed of 42 knots on its route from Piraeus to the island of Lesvos.
The new Corsaire 14000 fast ferry is slated for commercial service beginning in the summer of 2001.
3.4 Other Commercial Experience
Other configurations using gas turbines have proven effective for various fast ferry operators:
・MDV 3000 -- In July 1999, the Capricorn and Scorpio MDV 3000-class fast ferries began commercial operation powered by LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines. The MDV 3000 are the world's largest fast ferries. These are the third and fourth MDV 3000-class fast ferries to enter commercial service. The LM2500 also powers the initial two MDV 3000-class fast ferries the Aries and Taurus which began commercial operation in the summer of 1998. The four fast ferries provide service on the Civitavecchia to Sardinia Island and Genoa to Sardinia Island routes in Italy. Fincantieri, Genoa, Italy, built the vessels for Tirrenia Lines. Each MDV 3000 features a CODAG configuration with two LM2500 gas turbines and four diesel engines. Total power output is more than 70 megawatts per vessel, The fast ferries can reach speeds in excess of 40 knots, and can carry 1,800 passengers and 460 vehicles.
