GE Gas Turbines Power Three New Cruise Ships

GE announced that three new cruise ships recently went into service powered by GE LM aeroderivative gas turbines. The three ships -- Serenade of the Seas, Island Princess and Oosterdam -- each took their maiden voyage during July 2003. “GE is delighted to see the number of cruise ships continue to rise steadily that rely on our reliable and efficient LM gas turbines for propulsion as well as onboard power,” said Karl Matson, general manager of GE Marine Engines. “To date, 22 LM2500+ and four LM2500 GE gas turbine-generator sets are in operation or slated for service on 21 cruise ships. This number includes four options. Through this experience, GE Marine gas turbines continue to demonstrate their value for these state-of-the-art cruise ships,” Matson added. The ships that recently took maiden voyages are owned and operated by separate cruise lines as follows: o Serenade of the Seas is a Royal Caribbean International vessel and is the third in a series of four Radiance-class ships. Each ship features two GE LM2500+ gas turbine-generator sets in a COmbined Gas turbine and steam turbine integrated Electric drive system (COGES). The ship has a 2,100 passenger capacity, is 962 feet in length with a 106-foot beam and 28-foot draft, and a cruising speed of 24 knots. The ship sails to Canada/New England, the Caribbean and Alaska. Other Royal Caribbean ships in this class include Radiance of the Seas (April 2001), Brilliance of the Seas (July 2002) and Jewel of the Seas (second quarter 2004). Each of these ships feature the same LM2500+-powered COGES arrangement that fulfills both propulsion as well as all on-board power requirements. o Island Princess is a Princess Cruises ship, and is the second of four new builds for this cruise line. This vessel features one GE LM2500+ gas turbine-generator set in a COmbined Diesel And Gas turbine (CODAG) configuration with two diesel generator-sets. The 92,000-ton ship can carry 1,971 passengers, and is the sister to the Coral Princess, which debuted in January 2003. The Island Princess sails to Alaska, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. The other Princess Cruises vessels that will feature the GE LM2500+ gas turbine in a CODAG arrangement include the Diamond Princess (February 2004) and Sapphire Princess (May 2004). o Oosterdam is a Holland America Line vessel that features one LM2500 gas turbine-generator set in a CODAG configuration with five diesel generator-sets. The 951-foot ship has a 105.8-foot beam, a maximum speed of 24 knots (service speed is 22 knots) and capacity for 1,848 passengers. Her sister ship is the Zuiderdam which had its maiden voyage in December 2002. Other Holland America Line ships in the Vista-class will include the Westerdam (April 2004) and an additional ship yet to be named. GE Marine Engines, at its Evendale, Ohio facility, manufactured all the LM aeroderivative gas turbines for the above-mentioned projects. The LM gas turbine-generator sets were built and sold by GE Aero Energy, a GE Power Systems business headquartered in Houston, Texas.