ABB Signs Breakthrough Contract for Marine Automation in China

ABB has won its first marine automation system contract for a cruise ferry in China, after the technology package for Chinese-built Viking Line vessel has been extended to include the ABB Ability System 800xA.

ABB Ability System 800xA integrates power, propulsion and vessel management systems into one platform, enabling both crew and onshore teams to get a comprehensive overview of all the information needed to operate the vessel in the safest and most efficient manner. Adding marine automation to the technology package will improve project management, as well as result in greater vessel efficiency and digitalization.

“On her delivery, this vessel will be the most efficient cruise ferry operating in the Baltic, if not the world,” says Jan Hanses, President and CEO, Viking Line. “Extending our arrangement with ABB to include the full automation package made perfect sense, given that ABB has the dedicated local automation team and access to global engineering resources that will ensure both responsiveness and delivery of a vessel benefiting from the highest levels of systems integration.”

The 63,000 GT LNG-fueled cruise ferry, which is being built at Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry co., Ltd, will have space for 2,800-passengers when she joins services connecting the Finnish port of Turku in Finland, the Åland Islands and Stockholm, Sweden, in 2020.  

“Chinese shipbuilding is one of the most significant markets for ABB’s power, propulsion and automation system,” says Alf Kåre Adnanes, head of ABB’s Marine and Ports business in China. “Chinese shipyards are diversifying their portfolios, and ABB’s long history in the cruise sector is particularly relevant to China’s shipbuilders. We are part of an existing shipping cluster and can support Chinese shipyards in their strategy to build cruise vessels for China and for global customers.”

As well as the ABB electrical power generation, distribution systems and bow thruster motors, the vessel will be the first cruise ferry in the world to feature twin XO 2100-type Azipod units – the propulsion solution of choice in the cruise ship market.

“As ABB’s first marine automation contract for a cruise ferry in China, this is a breakthrough in a crucial territory where our marine business continues to increase, but it also confirms that our ‘Electric. Digital. Connected’ strategy is gaining traction in a growing number of sectors and markets,” says Juha Koskela, Managing Director, ABB Marine & Ports. “Integration that is available from the ground up meets today’s requirements and positions ABB to incorporate future technologies in a straightforward way.”

ABB’s vision for an “Electric. Digital. Connected.” maritime industry is based on the principles of simplicity, efficiency and safety, and seeks to leverage the power and automation group’s comprehensive bridge to propeller expertise to set shipping’s course towards the vessels of the future.

ABB Ability is the company’s unified, cross-industry offering extending from device to edge to cloud, integrating data to and from products, systems, solutions and services to deliver actionable information. The ABB Ability platform uses Microsoft Azure as the cloud for its integrated connectivity, so users can access enterprise-grade infrastructure that benefits from Microsoft’s significant investment.