AUTOMATION & CONTROL | 17
ROYAL CARIBBEAN TO UPGRADE CRUISE SHIP AUTOMATION M
ariner of the Seas’ will spend six weeks in a drydock in Cadiz, Spain, starting in May this year, for a major overhaul, which will include a suite of new automation, air conditioning and electronic entertainment systems. This upgrade will include new Valmet DNA user interfaces, data storage and analytics and reporting tools. Valmet senior technical manager for marine automation applications Per Syvertsen said the “control room and process controller parts of the system will be transformed to the latest Valmet DNA technology platform.” This upgrade will be based around a new Ethernet-based communication network that will link new DNA operator workstations, including a station for trend analysis, event archiving and reporting applications. There will also be upgraded Valmet application and control nodes (ACN), which support input and output (I/O)
Royal Caribbean International has chosen to upgrade the Damatic XDi automation systems on its 2003-built cruise ship, Mariner of the Seas, with Valmet DNA
Mariner of the Seas will be upgraded during a six-week drydocking in Cadiz, Spain in May-June
units and industrial process controllers. ACN industrial controllers are platforms for all the process controls and connections to external computer equipment on board this Voyager-class, 138,279 gt and 311 m cruise ship. Mr Syvertsen said a major
benefit of the upgrade is that the I/O side of the Damatic XDi system will remain unchanged as this part of the technology will still be supported for several years. Mariner of the Seas is expected to return to service before the end of June, after
which crew on board will be able to use a service called Valmet DNA Operate Trend and Event Archive as a functional extension to the control room. This provides users with access to trend and event history from the DNA Operate interface. “This gives a whole new dimension to process operations, since a user can utilise collected process history with trends, replay and alarm and event analysing tools,” said Mr Syvertsen. Mariner of the Seas’ automation controls its propulsion systems, which include a diesel-electric powertrain that uses three Azipod azimuth thrusters. Each propeller is driven by a double-wound three-phase synchronous motor with fourbladed fixed pitch propellers. These 14,000 kW motors are mounted directly on the propeller shaft inside the pod. There are also four 3,000 kW Kamewa bow thrusters.
Lindblad orders ABB automation for new polar cruise ship Lindblad Expeditions Holdings has ordered automation and power management systems for its new polar exploration cruise ship from ABB. This contract also involves supplying propulsion and digital systems. This ship will be constructed by Ulstein Verft in Norway for delivery in Q1 2020. Its automation will be based on ABB Ability 800xA, which integrates power, propulsion and vessel management systems into one platform. This will display information for both crew and onshore teams to give them a comprehensive overview of data
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for optimal ship operation. There will be workstations with uniform control and monitoring applications. In addition, this new passenger ship will be connected to ABB’s collaborative operations centre, which monitors the performance of ABB technology on board and remotely connects operators with ABB experts. There are likely to be more orders for ABB automation and power control systems as Ulstein holds options to build two additional ships for Lindblad Expeditions to the same design. MEC
Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018