ABB secured record number of marine orders in 2014

Firm's Azipod propulsion systems are becoming increasingly popular in the cruise industry
ABB secured record number of marine orders in 2014

By Rebecca Gibson |


Growing demand for electrical propulsion systems in the cruise industry helped power and automation technology provider ABB to win a record number of new marine orders in 2014.

Last year, ABB won orders worth US$200 million to deliver power plants and Azipod propulsion systems to cruise customers.

In 2014, ABB secured a number of orders to deliver the latest generation Azipod XO propulsion systems to high-end cruise vessels. This included repeat orders from longstanding customers, as well as contracts with new customers.

“ABB developed the Azipod electrical propulsion system to deliver tangible benefits to shipowners and operators – to improve the overall efficiency of ships while reducing the carbon footprint and providing better manoeuvrability compared to conventional propulsion solutions,” said Heikki Soljama, managing director of ABB’s Marine and Ports unit. “This explains why ABB has become the leader in electric propulsion and continues to harvest from increased demand across several vessel segments, cruise and arctic shipping in particular.”

2014 also marked another year of significant growth for diesel-electric propulsion.

“With a long history of cooperation, Lloyd’s Register welcomes the current success of ABB in delivering diesel electric and podded propulsion solutions for the cruise, off-shore and increasingly arctic market segments,” said Ed Fort, global technology leader at Lloyd’s Register. “Since the first installation of ABB podded propulsion units onboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Elation in 1997, Lloyd’s Register has worked closely with ABB to realise the performance and reliability of the Azipod unit and looks forward to many more years of continued cooperation.”

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