By
Rebecca Gibson |
ABB is to provide systematic maintenance planning, critical spares management and digital condition monitoring solutions for its Azipod XO propulsion systems onboard Carnival Corporation’s ships for the next 15 years.
According to a new agreement signed between the two firms in the third quarter of 2023, ABB will deliver maintenance services for the Azipod XO systems, which power multiple vessels operating for several of Carnival Corporation’s nine cruise brands.
ABB experts will provide 24/7 remote maintenance support to the vessels’ electric engineering crew, using ABB Ability Remote Diagnostic System and ABB Ability Condition Monitoring for Azipod propulsion. The owner accumulates data about Azipod propulsion performance, making spare part management and dry dock planning increasingly predictable and cost-efficient.
“This agreement helps optimise our long-term fleet performance while supporting our ongoing efforts to further improve energy and fuel efficiency and reduce emissions throughout our global operations,” said Michael Kaczmarek, senior vice president of marine technology at Carnival Corporation. “We are also creating predictability on maintenance costs and spares planning which delivers significant gains for planning, procedures and ship performance over the long term. We see this strategic and collaborative agreement as an excellent example of what can be achieved in our ship performance objectives through collaboration with our key technology suppliers.”
ABB installed its first Azipod propulsion unit on Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Elation in 1995. Since then, Carnival Corporation has specified Azipod propulsion for more than 40 vessels for its various cruise brands.
“The agreement and its 15-year timeframe further strengthen the long-standing collaboration between ABB and Carnival Corporation,” said Juha Koskela, division president of ABB Marine & Ports. “We take great pride in making sure Carnival Corporation’s cruise vessels get the full benefits of an optimised maintenance plan, service offering and access to our digital services around the world.”