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When completed, the four, 37,000-ton MARS tankers
will be the United Kingdom’s next-generation
class of large, fast-fleet tankers that will deliver
fuel and fresh water to Royal Navy vessels around
the world. GE’s drive train will be installed
as a key part of the ships’ hybrid propulsion
configuration that is inherently more fuel efficient
than conventional propulsion. The next-generation
MARS tankers are scheduled to enter service beginning
in 2016.
The RFA is replacing its existing, single-hulled
tankers to meet International Maritime Organization
pollution regulations as well as more stringent
European Commission environmental regulations.
An amendment to MARPOL regulations (the International
Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from
Ships 1973 and together with the Protocol of 1978)
requires tankers to be double-hulled.
Hybrid propulsion systems combine electrical
and mechanical propulsion technology to turn the
ship’s propeller throughout its operating
range of speeds. When the ship operates at moderate
and low speeds, the propeller shaft is turned
using GE’s electric motor and variable speed
drive controller system. Meanwhile, at high speeds
the diesel engine or gas turbine is connected
directly to the propeller through a gearbox.
This hybrid configuration is an exceptionally
versatile solution and is particularly suited
to the fluctuating operational scenarios encountered
by naval warships and auxiliary vessels. Using
an electric propulsion motor powered by the ship’s
generating sets to run the propeller saves fuel,
reduces emissions and reduces maintenance costs
of the main engines, since the generating sets
are running to meet other electrical needs on
the ship.
”Our electrical drive train technology will
offer the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s new fleet
of MARS tankers a highly energy efficient, flexible
and integrated power and propulsion system available
to direct power as needed in support of their
crucial military operations around the world,”
said Paul English, marine vertical leader for
GE’s Power Conversion business.
GE is supplying its electric drive systems to
Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co.,
Ltd. in the Republic of Korea (DSME), which was
awarded the contract for four MARS tankers by
the U.K Ministry of Defence in March, 2012.
With the system design, engineering and project
administration plus substantial elements of the
propulsion system’s manufacturing being led
by Power Conversion in the U.K., this contract
will contribute to the safeguarding of the company’s
1,500 jobs across the country including its Rugby
and Glasgow sites.
GE will begin delivering its systems for the
first MARS tanker in the fourth quarter of 2014
and is scheduled to finish supplying equipment
for the fourth MARS tanker by the second quarter
of 2016.
The MARS tanker contract reflects a growing trend
among the world’s leading navies to use GE’s
electric propulsion technology. Other orders include
the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates, Queen
Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and Type 45
destroyers, the U.S. Navy’s Zumwalt destroyers
and the French Navy’s Mistral class.
GE acquired Power Conversion (then known as Converteam)
in September 2011. GE’s Power Conversion
business applies the science and systems of power
conversion to help drive the electric transformation
of the world’s energy infrastructure. Designing
and delivering advanced motor, drive and control
technologies that evolve today’s industrial
processes for a cleaner, more productive future,
it serves specialized sectors such as energy,
marine, industry and all related services.
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