New systems have extended the operational life of Pacific Pearl, Pacific Dawn and Pacific Jewel
By
Rebecca Gibson |
GE’s Marine Solutions has upgraded the propulsion systems onboard P&O Cruises Australia’s Pacific Pearl, Pacific Dawn and Pacific Jewel, extending their operational life.
GE provided hardware and spare parts, and managed the design engineering processes and the shop tests on a real-time simulator. The company also upgraded the propulsion documentation and drawings, and supervised the installation and sea trials.
To ensure safety, the new controllers were installed and commissioned individually while the vessels were operating at sea, and the analogue controls were decommissioned only after the digital controls were successfully tested. GE also updated the related machinery and monitoring controllers to make them more user friendly and reliable.
“The vessels’ analogue controllers were still operating correctly 20 years after their delivery, however the availability of their critical electronic components was no longer guaranteed and the skilled engineering expertise required to troubleshoot issues was slowly disappearing,” said Jean-Philippe Chaignot, marine solutions leader at GE’s Power Conversion business. “Such issues had the potential to extend a vessel stop, which could have caused the possible shutdown of its control system resulting in severe financial loss for the customer.”
GE has been Carnival Corporation & plc’s partner for 20 years and during this time, it has equipped more than 30 Carnival Group vessels with its electric power and propulsion systems.
“Our success lies in the success of our customers, and we’re proud of providing long-lasting and high-quality solutions backed with reliable services that help our customers maintain their competitive edge,” said Tim Schweikert, president and CEO of GE’s Marine Solutions.