By
Elizabeth Robinson |
ABB has signed a contract with Cochin Shipyard to deliver the first-ever integrated power and automation package to an Indian shipowner.
The two new 1,200-passenger ferries will be delivered to the Andaman and Nicobar Administration in 2020.
These vessels will feature a fully integrated distribution and propulsion system, enabled by the ABB Ability System 800xA automation onboard.
ABB’s supply includes generators, main switchboards, transformers, the power management and propulsion control systems, propulsion motors and drives, as well as the integrated alarm, monitoring and control system (IAMCS).
The ferries will be operated by Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) in services connecting mainland India with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal.
“These ferries will play a significant part in meeting the demands of the growing local infrastructure and proving transport links within the Bay of Bengal,” said Shri Madhu Nair, chairman and managing director of Cochin Shipyard. “We look forward to working together with ABB for integrating modern vessel management techniques and leveraging each other’s capabilities on these vessels, which we are confident would be the best amongst the Administration’s fleet once they are put into service.”
Vessel specifications require that the ferries are fully capable of international voyages. ABB’s experience in designing automation systems for ships complying with the International Maritime Organization’s Safe Return to Port requirements for passenger ships has been a key differentiator in power and automation selection.
“Indian owners recognise the efficiency and sustainability benefits available through integration,” said Juha Koskela, managing director, ABB Marine and Ports. “This order is a major breakthrough for ABB’s integrated power and automation technology in a new market, but it also highlights that equivalent benefits are available to owners from our ‘Electric. Digital. Connected.’ approach anywhere in the world. Shipowners and operators in any market can benefit from the connectivity and remote management techniques, optimising them by choosing shipboard systems that are themselves characterised by integration and digitalisation.”