GE Marine Engines Power Final Sealift Ship

GE Marine Engines’ LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines and main reduction gears power the eighth and final Strategic Sealift ship, the USNS Soderman, recently launched by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO). “GE is proud to have supplied the engines, gears and automation systems for the eighth Sealift ship. This brings the total number of U.S. Navy ships fitted with GE’s gas turbines to 192,” said Karl Matson, General Manager of GE Marine Engines. “Our engines continue to provide the Navy with outstanding reliability, logging over 7.5 million operating hours in service for our country,” Matson added. Two GE LM2500s are used on each gas turbine-powered Sealift vessel. The gas turbines offer 32,000 horsepower -- a special rating for the Sealift operating profile. GE also supplied the main reduction gears and the machinery automation drive and control system for the LM2500 propulsion package. Each Sealift ship is 950 ft. long by 105 ft. wide, and can cruise at 24 knots (approximately 27 miles per hour). The strategic Sealift ships are large, medium-speed, roll-on, roll-off ships (LMSRs) with more than 390,000 square feet of cargo carrying space. The NASSCO-built LMSRs are assigned to the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command and carry U.S. Army tanks, armored personnel carriers, tractor-trailers, and other combat equipment and supplies to potential areas of conflict around the world. NASSCO is fulfilling its contract for a total of eight new construction ships – all using GE LM2500 gas turbines and main reduction gearing -- under the 20-ship Strategic Sealift Program. All of the ships were named for U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipients. NASSCO delivered the first gas turbine-powered USNS Watson Sealift ship to the U.S. Navy in June 1998. Since that time, NASSCO has delivered six additional gas turbine-powered Sealift vessels, the Sisler, Dahl, Red Cloud, Charlton, Watkins, Pomeroy, and will deliver the Soderman in September 2002.