GE LM2500 Aeroderivative Gas Turbines And Gears Power Final Sealift Ship Launched By NASSCO
--EVENDALE, OHIO - GE Marine Engines' LM2500 aeroderivative gas
turbines and main reduction gears power the eighth and final Strategic
Sealift ship, the USNS Soderman, recently launched by National Steel and
Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO). NASSCO, a General Dynamics Company, is
headquartered in San Diego, Calif.
"GE is proud to have supplied the engines, gears and automation systems for
the eighth Sealift ship. This brings the total number of U.S. Navy ships
fitted with GE's gas turbines to 192," said Karl Matson, General Manager of
GE Marine Engines. "Our engines continue to provide the Navy with
outstanding reliability, logging over 7.5 million operating hours in service
for our country," Matson added.
Two GE LM2500s are used on each gas turbine-powered Sealift vessel. The gas
turbines offer 32,000 horsepower -- a special rating for the Sealift
operating profile. GE also supplied the main reduction gears and the
machinery automation drive and control system for the LM2500 propulsion
package.
Each Sealift ship is 950 feet long by 105 feet wide, and can cruise at 24
knots (approximately 27 miles per hour). The strategic Sealift ships are
large, medium-speed, roll-on, roll-off ships (LMSRs) with more than 390,000
square feet of cargo carrying space. The NASSCO-built LMSRs are assigned to
the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command and carry U.S. Army tanks, armored
personnel carriers, tractor-trailers, and other combat equipment and
supplies to potential areas of conflict around the world.
NASSCO is fulfilling its contract for a total of eight new construction
ships - all using GE LM2500 gas turbines and main reduction gearing -- under
the 20-ship Strategic Sealift Program. All of the ships were named for U.S.
Army Medal of Honor recipients.
NASSCO delivered the first gas turbine-powered USNS Watson Sealift ship to
the U.S. Navy in June 1998. Since that time, NASSCO has delivered six
additional gas turbine-powered Sealift vessels, the Sisler, Dahl, Red Cloud,
Charlton, Watkins, Pomeroy, and will deliver the Soderman in September 2002.
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.