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GE fuel-saving engine system now in latest, greatest Maersk ships

GENERAL Electric Marine Solutions has delivered its power take off/power take in (PTO/PTI) solution along with its Power Management System digital software solution onboard four of the world's biggest containerships owned by Maersk Line - the Madrid Maersk, Munich Maersk, Moscow Maersk and Milan Maersk.

Madrid Maersk is the first container vessel delivered from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering back in April and the Munich Maersk and the Moscow Maersk have both completed successful sea trials, said the GE press release.

Milan Maersk will soon be in service. These vessels are among the 11 Maersk second-generation ultra large container vessels called the EEE Mark II. Having a capacity of 20,568 TEU each.

"The future of shipping requires more-efficient vessels with cleaner technologies that meet stringent environment regulations. Maersk's EEE Mark II series of container vessels are among the world' largest, and we will use them to move the greatest volume of goods in the most energy-efficient manner with the smallest emissions footprint possible in the industry," said Maersk Line project manager Steffen Hartvig Nielsen.

The innovative PTO/PTI solution can result in significant fuel savings and operational flexibility. The solution consists of two GE motor-generator sets that sit on the two propeller shafts while connecting to the GE MV7000 drives.

During the PTI mode, the motor-generator sets play the role of an electric propulsion system that provides additional motor power beyond that of the main diesel engines to propel the vessel.

When the need for propulsion power is reduced, the motor-generator sets switch to the PTO mode, harnessing the mechanical energy from the shaft and converting the otherwise wasted energy into electricity to generate power for electrical equipment onboard the vessel.

"Typically, one diesel engine can consume as much as eight tons of fuel per hour. Saving even just one per cent of fuel will generate significant savings for the customer," said GE's marine solutions project chief Bruno Daubas.

The two modes are completely reversed processes and, therefore, require robust drives and software to ensure a smooth switch between two modes and to react in a highly responsive manner. During the sea trial of Madrid Maersk, when the modes switched, all equipment kept running without the slightest interruption "without even a flicker of a light bulb".