Ovation has propulsion issues

[ew101]

On 12/21/2022 at 4:50 AM, chengkp75 said:

Cruise ships are lucky to get 2 weeks every 5 years out of service.  This is why there is more redundancy built into the ships, and I can guarantee that there are at least a dozen cruise ships worldwide currently sailing with an engine taken down for major overhaul (scheduled every 12,000 running hours) that no one onboard is aware of.  And, if this is an azipod issue, I don't know what the failure type is, but the azipods are new technology, as it relates to maritime propulsion (200 years and tens of thousands of ships as data points, versus 20 years and a couple of hundred ships), so whether this is a maintenance issue or a manufacturer issue is up for question.  I seem to recall the Navy having lots of issues when they were developing the gas turbines for ships.

Surely someone aboard can sniff out the actual issue? 

 

As a long time student /fan club member of @chengkp75can we look at Wikipedia and try to make a list of possibilities?

 

Installed power:   
2 ×  Wärtsilä 12V46F (2 × 14,400 kW) (Hotel?)
2 ×  Wärtsilä 16V46F (2 × 19,200 kW) (Propulsion?) 
2 ×  Cat 3516C HD (2 × 2,500 kW) (Emergency?) 
Propulsion    
Diesel-electric
2 ×  ABB Azipod XO thrusters (2 × 20.5 MW)
4 ×  3,500 kW (4,694 hp) Brunvoll FU115 bow thrusters
Speed    22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)

 

It would seem that the vessel has two engine rooms, two big azipods and two propulsion-focused diesel generators.  So if there is one big engine offline, would they be down to (currently making) 18 knots?  If there is one Azipod out or limping with a bearing problem the same?  I remember some older ships having more engines, so the loss of one was not so noticeable?   Can all the engines ( +hotel)  pool the power for the azipods?  

 

The cruise industry has made a business decision to move away from well proven shafts to azipods.  A fair number of ports have been missed (and vacations ruined), but as far as I can remember, no lives or ships have been lost as a result.   I think I would feel safer on a ship with azipods turning in a fast current docking on a river vs one with fixed shafts.  It is all trade offs.  07 Feb 1953 - Queen Mary beats N.Y. wharf strike - Trove (nla.gov.au)

Edited December 25, 2022 by ew101

[chengkp75]

26 minutes ago, ew101 said:

two propulsion-focused diesel generators

This is not correct.  All six generators are connected to a common "bus" or switchboard, that supplies every electrical need on the ship, whether propulsion or hotel.  The various sized generators allow for combining them on line in various configurations to allow for maximizing the load on the generators at various operating conditions.  For instance, you could use the two smaller Wartsila engines if the ship is steaming at slow speed, or one large and one small for higher speeds, and finally all four Wartsila engines for full speed.  The two CAT generators are "emergency" in that they can be used in a situation like the Carnival Triumph, where the engine rooms were disabled.  They can also be used to augment power when one Wartsila engine is down for maintenance, though not fully, of course.

 

26 minutes ago, ew101 said:

I think I would feel safer on a ship with azipods turning in a fast current docking on a river vs one with fixed shafts.

A modern cruise ship with bow and stern thrusters, two shafted controllable pitch propellers, and two "high lift" rudders, with the proper training can be just as maneuverable as an azipod equipped ship, in a docking maneuver.  As well, if an azipod goes down, you lose not only propulsion, but steering as well, while with propellers/rudders, losing one system does not take down the other.  The major advantage of azipods over conventional propellers/rudders is initial capital cost.

Edited December 25, 2022 by chengkp75

[chengkp75]

26 minutes ago, ew101 said:

 07 Feb 1953 - Queen Mary beats N.Y. wharf strike - Trove (nla.gov.au)

Many cruise ships with propellers/rudders manage many ports without tugs.

[spizza]

When the captain came over the intercom to give us the bad news on missing 2 ports, he specifically said “ we have been in contact with ABB to try to resolve the issue”

must have been an azipod issue. Also only 1 propellor wash was visible for the remainder of the return trip.

[Chiliburn]

Quantum has missed Mystery Island again today.

 Mystery island is the highlight of the pacific .

Between Ovation and Quantum I think there has only been one successful visit this season.
I wonder if somehow it’s connected to Lelepa?

[Engineroom Snipe]

1 hour ago, Chiliburn said:

Quantum has missed Mystery Island again today.

 Mystery island is the highlight of the pacific .

Between Ovation and Quantum I think there has only been one successful visit this season.
I wonder if somehow it’s connected to Lelepa?

Thank you for the consistent updates which may lead to a reason for so many many missed Mystery Island port calls.