05 Juni 07 What it takes to change an Azipod propulsion motor ....
And you think your job is complicated?
In September 2006, the Oosterdam experienced a failure of one of the propulsion motors. Called an Azipod, this large 17 MW electric motor with propeller installed beneath the stern section of the vessel provides propulsion, steering and thrust to maneuver and steer the vessel when underway and during docking.
An analysis of the damage showed that the fix was to be far from simple. And the decision was made to replace it with a spare 14.5 MW unit in storage in Finland.
When Holland America started operating vessels with Azipod propulsion,
it was decided to build a spare 14.5 MW unit with a variety of cruise
line operators to assure the availability of a motor in case of an
emergency. Along with this spare pod an adaptor kit was designed to
ensure the spare motor could be installed under a variety of vessels.
One challenge was to dry dock the Oosterdam with as little impact on
cruise interruptions (and revenue) as possible. Another challenge in
the exchange of the motor was that the replacement of this heavy unit
with a different replacement unit had never been done before. The
Azipod weighs in at 160 Metric tons and that’s minus the additional 30
metric ton propeller (equivalent to approximately 350,000 pounds for
the Azipod and 65,000 pounds for the propeller). Since the Azipod was
too heavy to be lifted by the dry dock cranes, a heavy lift barge from
AMIX with a 600 metric ton lifting capacity crane was brought in to
handle the lifting.
While the spare Azipod was shipped from Finland to the port of
Victoria, a dry dock slot was scheduled at Victoria Shipyard on
Vancouver Island from April 24 to May 2. The original Azipod is en
route to Finland to be repaired this summer at the original factory.
The vessel BBC Argentina arrives with the Spare Azipod in the Port of Victoria.
Since the Azipod is too heavy to be lifted by the dry dock cranes, help was requested from the Arctic Tuk, a heavy lift barge from
AMIX with a 600 MT lifting capacity crane to handle the lifting.
The Azipod was offloaded at the ship yard.
After arrival Oosterdam she was put on the “blocks” in the graving dock at Victoria Shipyard.
Internal preparations were made to disconnect all the electrical wires as well the plumbing lines for the lubrication systems by the ABB experts.
In the dock the propeller was removed first.
A support cradle and heavy lift gear was brought in place to lower the Azipod from the ships hull by Helminen, a special heavy lift team from Finland.
Azipod is being lowered from the hull.
The job was done around the clock.
on the transport rails, the Azipod is moved towards the lift location.
Lifting again is done by the Arctic Tuk, new pod stands by for the lift.
The spare Azipod is lifted over the dock door into the dry dock.
Lifted in position, the new unit has a mounting angle of 13°
36 large bolts are being fixed to hold the motor in place
Final repairs ongoing during the night
The Technical department was happy to see their new motor.
Azipod in place, propeller installed and dock floor cleaned. (A day ahead of schedule)
Dock is filled and everybody is exited to get underway again.
The specialists have their last work discussions.
The Chief Engineer and his staff checks the new equipment.
Final adjustments in the software for the controller of the Azipod unit are done during sea trials.
Vessel is underway and happy to sail on two Azipod motors again.
Curious…was no coating & paint needed for the new azipod ? B. Maaswinkel (Email) - 09 08 07 - 11:37
The Azipod received 3 layers of coating when manufacturered and a final layer of white coat. This is a typical delivery unless different specified. HAL vessels have a final Red coating for the underwater line including their Azipods. In this case we didn’t add an additional layer of Red coating since the motor was going to be a temporary installation only and be replaced again in September 2007.
De motor is operating very well and the decission was made to keep this motor in operation until April 2009, then the original motor will be placed back again. Wiel Penders (Email) - 15 08 07 - 01:16
Thanks for the info.
Not an easy and cheap repair job though.
rgds B. Maaswinkel (Email) - 15 08 07 - 10:09
Just a quick follow-up on the Azipod replacement on Oosterdam. September 07 has come and gone and it appears Oosterdam is keeping the replacement pod for now. Any update on future plans? Replacing it with the repaired? original? Keeping it? Hartstikke bedankt voor uw antwoord! J.R.Prins (Email) - 28 10 07 - 20:26
The original 17 Mw Azipod has been repaired in Finland and is ready to be installed back on board Oosterdam during a scheduled dry dock period in Palermo, Sicily, April 2009.
The spare Azipod will than be returned to the US for long term storage and future usage if necessary. Wiel Penders - 29 02 08 - 16:56
How long did it take you to replace the pod? Alan M (Email) - 21 08 08 - 16:34
It took about 4 × 24 Hours (4 full days) in Drydock in April 2007. We scheduled 5 days but were able to short this with 1 full day. Wiel Penders (Email) - 21 08 08 - 16:45
Geachte heer Penders,
Hoe vordert de opknapbeurt van de Oosterdam in Palermo?
Is het schip aanstaande vrijdag weer in Barcelona voor de
nieuwe cruise? Wat is allemaal geupgradet?
Dank u voor uw reactie,
H.Wilmes H.Wilmes - 17 04 09 - 23:11
It seems that the new azipod has a different “horizontal” axis (13 deg) than the old azipod which appears to be almost horizontal. Why this difference and does this not affect the straigth ahead sailing capabilities of the ship?
JP
11 11 09 j pauwels (Email) - 11 11 09 - 13:50
The original mounting angle for this type of Hull is about 6 degrees, Azipod facing forward. The reason for the 13 degrees angle comes from the multiple installation options for the temporary Azipod. The mounting is done with an adatoptor ring and can be isntalled on several vessels as spare unit with reduced output power. The Azipod with less power and different angle performed rather well and we decided to keep the unit on for almost 2 years. The original repaired Azipod is back in place and performs well. Wiel Penders (Email) - 13 11 09 - 20:07
