Caterpillar Marine - Marine Engines Caterpillar

Marine Engineering at Carnival
Corporate Shipbuilding in
Southampton (UK), summarises
his overall impression
of the MaK 9 M 43 C. Mr Joly
also emphasises the excellent
support provided via
Caterpillar Marine and the
various specialist groups in
the Caterpillar engine plants
in Kiel and Rostock. “We’re
delighted to experience this
engine in deployment. We
expect reliability in operation
and low fuel consumption,”
Joly adds. “We’re particularly
pleased by the
Flexible Camshaft Technology
(FCT) and the fact that
this ensures extremely low
soot particle emissions even
with minimum output –
exactly reflecting Carnival’s
focus on sustainable development
and environmental
protection.”
“High engine performance
and dedicated customer
advisory service” is
also the verdict of Jens
Kohlmann, Senior Superintendent
Machinery, and
Detlef Stremlow, Superin-
tendent Newbuildings Machinery at
AIDA Cruises in Rostock (Germany).
“The surface temperatures correspond
to SOLAS, the sound levels are below
the limit values, the engine vibrations
are restricted to a minimum, and
the plant complies with the low prescribed
levels for fuel consumption,”
says Stremlow, soberly reading off the
entries in his check list. Kohlmann and
Stremlow are also impressed by the
easy accessibility to every area of the
MaK 9 M 43 C for inspection purposes.
“We’re delighted by the results for the
acceptance test of the engines for the
ship,” concludes Kohlmann, “but from
the standpoint of an operator, we’re
even happier about the performance
that can be expected in daily operation
on board.”
Satisfied shipyard
“The AIDA engine plant offers
numerous technical improvements,”
explains Jürgen Storz, head of the
10
Dedicated for the “AIDAdiva” – shipment of one MaK 9 M 43 C
engine
Mechanical Engineering Group at
Meyer Werft, “particularly for reducing
emissions and minimising vibrations
and for engine automation.” In
particular, very strict limit values
for soot particles and NOx over the
entire load area required an advanced
engine design “and the selected FCT
system of MaK offered a very good
performance,” emphasises Heinz-Hermann
Jungeblut from the Mechanical
Engineering Group at Meyer Werft.
Strict requirements as regards vibrations
also necessitated careful inspection
of the engine vibrations and their
effects on the built-on equipment
and also vibrations transferred to the
engine substructure, thus considerably
affecting passenger comfort. “The
new resilient dampers have in any
case demonstrated their effectiveness:
all vibration measurements were
well below the specified limits,” notes
Jungeblut.
“Special priority was given to the automation
system required by the yard for
the engine plant. Caterpillar
and Meyer Werft cooperated
closely to develop this,”
comments Storz. The system
comprises a safety management
system and an alarm/
monitoring system with a
bus connector to the controlling
automation system
of the ship. Its function and
the interaction with the
engines were fully tested
on the test stand. The connecting
cables are ready, a
class approval of the entire
systems being made possible
for the plant acceptance
tests. This is an important
advantage for the
yard, according to Storz:
“This innovative approach
creates confidence even
from the test stand phase
and saves us a great deal
of time with the later
putting into operation of
the engines on board the
vessel.”
That is also confirmed by
Aloys Meemann, who heads
the project management at
Meyer Werft and is responsible
for the punctual delivery
of all four AIDA ships: “We’re convinced
that all parties involved have
done everything required to provide
the ship owner with an innovative
yet uncomplicated and therefore
reliable engine plant. We’re highly
satisfied with the cooperation with
Caterpillar.”
One hardly needs to add anything
to these statements from the
experts, except perhaps a concluding
comment from Leif Gross, Sales
Director Global Cruise Projects at
Caterpillar Marine: “The Caterpillar
team is extraordinarily proud that
it is equipping the new AIDA cruise
ships with the basis of a powerful yet
cost-efficient and low-emission propulsion
plant. We’re already looking
forward to April 2007, when the “AID-
Adiva” will be named in Hamburg –
the people of this city are meanwhile
known as enthusiastic fans of cruise
ships, including those at the headquarters
of Caterpillar Marine Power
Systems.”