March 4, 2003 -- GE's LM2500+ aeroderivative gas turbine-based propulsion systems aboard six cruise ships continue to demonstrate excellent in-service reliability and availability, the company reported today during the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention.
"The overall reliability and availability of the combined gas turbine and steam turbine integrated electric drive systems -- known as COGES plants -- aboard four Celebrity Cruise and two Royal Caribbean International cruise ships continue to meet or exceed expectations," said Karl Matson, general manager of GE Marine Engines.
"We believe that this strong in-service performance record can be attributed to several factors including the 'Reliability Centered' maintenance philosophy in place on these ships. Through our remote diagnostics system, GE's land-based specialists can track critical COGES plant parameters. This daily monitoring and trending helps identify needs for maintenance action in advance of an unscheduled event," Matson added.
The cruise ships are Celebrity Cruises' Millennium, Infinity, Summit and Constellation, and Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas and Brilliance of the Seas.
GE's LM2500+ gas turbines are the heart of the COGES plants aboard each of the six cruise ships. GE Aero Energy Products (GE AEP) supplied all the COGES plants. GE AEP is a GE Power Systems business headquartered in Houston, Texas, and a GE Marine Engines Marine Systems Supplier.
COGES Plant Performance
The LM2500+ gas turbines originally installed aboard Celebrity Cruises' Millennium have operated more than 17,000 hours each without maintenance. In fact, one LM2500+ was removed at the 17,000-hour mark for a more detailed internal inspection that confirmed internal hot section components to be fully serviceable.
Service life of at least 20,000 hours from the gas turbines before hot section maintenance is expected. The absence of soot formation within the gas turbines and heat recovery steam generators has been achieved. Similarly, inspection of other components within the COGES plant has not identified any significant equipment deficiencies.
This in-service record and the ability to exchange the gas generator during normal port calls has allowed Celebrity Cruises the flexibility to extend operation beyond the previously-projected 14,000 to 15,000 hour dry docking repair interval.
Other in-service experience shows:
Rick Kennedy
GE Aviation
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