EVENDALE, OH - GE Marine Engines announced it will supply Motoren- und Turbinen-Union (MTU), Friedrichshafen, Germany, with two LM2500+ aeroderivative gas turbines. The units will be used on the new Corsaire 13000 monohull fast ferry being built for Societe Nationale Maritime Corse Mediterranee (SNCM), Marseille, France.
This marks the first selection of the LM2500+ gas turbine for commercial fast ferry service, and the first commercial marine operator in France to use GE aeroderivative gas turbines. The LM2500+ is slated for use in another commercial marine arrangement aboard cruise ships being built for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises.
For the Corsaire 13000 application, each LM2500+ gas turbine will be used in a combined diesel and gas turbine arrangement with two MTU diesel engines. Total power output will be 63,000 kilowatts.
The fast ferry will be 137 meters long and will be capable of carrying 1000 passengers and 290 cars or six coaches with a service speed of 42 knots. The ship will operate in the Mediterranean Sea between Marseille, France and the French island of Corsica.
The gas turbines will be manufactured by GE Marine Engines at its Evendale, OH facility, and will be delivered to MTU's Friedrichshafen plant in May 1999. MTU will install the gas turbines into marine propulsion packages. The Corsaire fast ferry, which is being built by the Alstom Leroux Naval shipyard in France, is slated to enter commercial service in April 2000.
MTU, headquartered in Friedrichshafen, Germany, is a company of the DaimlerChrysler Group and a leading supplier of plants for electric power generation and drive systems for land, water and railroad applications. MTU packages GE LM gas turbines for marine and power generation applications. GE Marine Engines is part of GE Aircraft Engines and is headquartered in Evendale, OH. GE Marine Engines is the world's largest designer, developer and manufacturer of aeroderivative gas turbines for a variety of commercial and military marine propulsion applications.