MIAMI, Fla. - GE Marine Engines today announced that the two LM2500+ aeroderivative gas turbine engines onboard Celebrity Cruises' Millennium cruise ship have together logged nearly 10,000 fired hours. The milestone is being reached under a general maintenance schedule, GE reported today at the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention."We are very happy with the operations of the new gas turbine system," said Admiral Angelos Argyropoulos, senior vice president of Marine Operations for Celebrity Cruises. "There have been no significant maintenance issues and the quarterly inspections have taken only eight hours, with the assistance of GE."Since Millennium entered service in the summer of 2000, Celebrity Cruises reports no forced outages of the LM2500+-based combined gas turbine and steam turbine integrated electric drive system (COGES). The gas turbines continue to meet the guaranteed consumption of cleaner-burning Marine Gas Oil (MGO).No longer are the benefits of the GE gas turbine engines just theoretical. Celebrity Cruises' is experiencing the reality of these advantages onboard the world's first gas turbine-powered ship:

• No boiler maintenance or fouling due to MGO burn.
• Significantly lower NOx and SOx emissions.
• Lower levels of noise and vibration that enhance the comfort of all guests.Millennium carries a relatively lightweight GE LM2500+ spare gas generator for use during general, onboard overhaul/repair work or for an unexpected engine change-out. This allows for high reliability and high availability of the COGES arrangement, due to rapid repair of modular components, and ultimately maximum in-service time for the ship.What's Ahead
  GE has steadily grown its presence in the cruise industry over the past five years as cruise ship owners and operators seek more environmentally sensitive propulsion options. To date, GE has 20 LM2500+ and five LM2500 gas turbines operating or slated for service on cruise ships, either in a COGES or a combined diesel and gas turbine arrangement. GE Aero Energy Products (formerly known as S&S Energy Products), a GE Marine Engines Marine System Supplier and a GE Power Systems business based in Houston, Texas, packages all gas turbines for these applications. Radiance of the Seas, a cruise ship being built for Celebrity Cruises' sister company Royal Caribbean International, will make its maiden voyage in the Spring of 2001, powered by a GE LM2500+-based COGES arrangement. This is the first Royal Caribbean International cruise ship to be powered by gas turbines. The second Celebrity Cruises gas turbine-powered ship, Infinity, is now entering service. 
  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 at Marine Propulsion section of our website.