Cavotec and ABB team up to help cut ship’s fuel consumption by up to a quarter

Cavotec has completed work on the development of a unique marine propulsion system that, in conjunction with an innovative ship design, promises to improve fuel consumption by up to 25 per cent.

Cavotec was involved in the power, signal and fluid transfer to long-standing partner ABB's Contra Rotating Propeller Azipod® XO, which makes dramatic improvements to fuel economy and reduces environmental impact.

The Group supplied one of its marine propulsion slip rings (MPS) to be located inside the ship on top of the Azipod unit. The MPS also enables the pod and propeller to rotate 360 degrees, which reduces or eliminates the need for assistance from tugs in port.

The propulsion system has been included in the design of a 2,000-TEU container feeder ship by Danish naval design and marine consultancy Knud E Hansen. Among the key characteristics of the vessel and its propulsion system are the reduced need for water ballast, the potential for increased slow-steaming and flexible transit speeds.

According to a news release published by Knud E. Hansen, "The high container capacity [of the vessel] in combination with the fine hull lines and very efficient propulsion system gives the vessel a fuel economy 15-25% better per TEU than typical feeder vessels of similar size."

Cavotec has supplied MPS since the early Nineties when ABB Marine and Kvaerner Masa Yard of Finland approached the Group for a R&D study into power, data and hydraulic transmission for a revolutionary ship propulsion system using an outboard electrical motor rather than the traditional (on-line shaft) inboard diesel powered propulsion.

Today, with MPS installed all over the world in cruise liners, ice breakers, ferries, military ships and other types of vessels, Cavotec is the only supplier able to offer a complete system combining electrical, data and hydraulic transmission.