ABB's latest Azipod XO pod propeller has been shipped

Recently, the latest Azipod XO pod propeller from the ABB plant in Helsinki, Finland, was shipped from the factory and will be installed on a cruise ship to be delivered in 2016.

The Azipod XO pod propeller from ABB's Vuosaari Harbour factory to the dock and then to the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, has a power of 20.5 MW. The pod propeller will be fitted to one of the two new cruise ships that will be delivered by Meyer Werft Shipyard in the fall of 2016.

It is reported that ABB will provide complete power generation units and propulsion systems for two new cruise ships. The two 335-meter-long cruise ships can carry 3,300 visitors each and will be delivered in autumn 2016 and 2017 respectively.

The assembly of each full-turn pod propeller takes approximately two months. At the same time, ABB's Helsinki Motor, Generator and Drive Plant spent six months producing powerful synchronous generators for the system's core.

It is understood that ABB has delivered or has undertaken orders for approximately 200 full-rotary pod propellers, including merchant ships, offshore vessels and special vessels. By continuously investing in product development and innovation, two-thirds of the state-of-the-art large cruise ships, icebreakers and the highest-class ice class ships are equipped with ABB's full-turn pod propellers.