--MIAMI, FLORIDA - GE Marine Engines' LM2500+-based propulsion system aboard Celebrity Cruises' Millennium gas turbine-powered cruise ship recently underwent annual inspection. GE found that the two gas turbines continue to perform with strong availability and reliability, the company reported today at the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention.

"The annual inspection of Celebrity Cruises' Millennium combined gas turbine and steam turbine integrated electric drive system or COGES plant is part of GE's service agreement with Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises for its fleet of eight gas turbine-powered cruise ships," said Bruce Sanneman, marine program manager, GE Marine Engines. "As a result of the good operating 'health' of the two LM2500+ gas turbines, the Millennium has not had a single COGES-related arrival or departure delay at any port," Sanneman added.

For the Millennium -- the world's first gas turbine-powered cruise ship - and the remainder of the Royal Caribbean/Celebrity Cruises gas turbine-based cruise ship fleet, GE predicted that the hot section repair interval frequency could coincide with the COGES-based ships' dry docking in the thirtieth month of operation. GE anticipated this repair would need to be performed on each gas turbine at 13,250 hours. Based on the good condition of the gas turbines, predictions for hot section repair intervals can easily be exceeded for the Millennium units. Other cruise ship engines have shown similar durability.

Experience

To date, there are four Royal Caribbean/Celebrity Cruises cruise ships in operation that are powered by LM2500+-based COGES propulsion systems: Millennium, Infinity, Summit and Radiance of the Seas. Table 1 provides an overview of the hours logged on each engine aboard each ship.

 

Including the eight LM2500+s aboard the four Royal Caribbean/Celebrity Cruises ships, GE has delivered a total of 16 gas turbine-generator sets for 10 cruise ships. Of these, 14 are GE LM2500+ and two are GE LM2500 gas turbines. In addition, GE has a total of 11 gas turbines on order for cruise ship applications.

The following is a brief summary of other cruise ship projects that will use GE gas turbines. All of the gas turbine packages were sold and supplied by GE Aero Energy Products (GE AEP), a GE Power Systems business based in Houston, Texas and a GE Marine Engines Marine Systems Supplier:

• Cunard Line: The Queen Mary 2 will use two LM2500+ gas turbines in a Combined Diesel and Gas Turbine (CODAG) configuration with four diesels. This transatlantic liner will be the world's largest passenger vessel upon completion in 2003.



• Holland America: GE AEP recently full load tested and shipped two LM2500 gas turbine-generator sets from its Houston facility to Fincantieri Cantieri Navali's shipyard in Italy. The units, along with three other LM2500s, will be used by this Carnival Corporation unit for five new cruise ships. One LM2500 turbine-generator set will be applied per ship, operating in parallel with one or more of the five diesel generators on board.



• Princess Cruises: In the fall of 2001, an LM2500+ gas turbine-generator set was shipped by GE AEP to the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in France for use onboard a Princess Cruises Baby Grand-class cruise ship. Another Baby Grand, as well as two Grand Princess-class cruise ships, will use LM2500+ aeroderivative gas turbines in CODAG configurations. One LM2500+ gas turbine will be used on each vessel in conjunction with medium-speed diesel engine-driven alternators.

GE Marine Engines is part of GE Aircraft Engines and is headquartered in Evendale, Ohio. GE Marine Engines is the world's largest designer, developer and manufacturer of aeroderivative gas turbines for a variety of commercial and military marine propulsion applications. Visit GE Marine Engines on the worldwide web at www.geae.com.