Destined for installation on board one of the highest profile cruise ship deliveries scheduled for 2016, the latest Azipod XO podded propulsion recently departed from the ABB factory in Helsinki.

The unit, which commands 20.5 MW of power, has been transfered from ABB’s Vuosaari Harbour plant to the dockside for loading, bound for Meyer Werft, Papenburg. It will be installed on one of two newbuildings due for delivery from the German yard in fall 2016.

ABB is delivering the complete electrical power plant and propulsion systems for the two new cruise ships. The 335-meter length vessels will be able to accommodate 3,300 passengers each and will be delivered one apiece in fall 2016 and 2017.

Each Azipod propulsion unit takes about two months for technicians to assemble at the Vuosaari plant. Across town at ABB’s Helsinki motors, generators and drives factory, the powerful synchronous motors at the system’s core take shape over six months.

ABB has delivered, or has on order, Azipod propulsion units to about 200 vessels including merchant, offshore and specialized ships. Through a continuous commitment to product development and innovation, today up to two thirds of the most modern larger cruise ships, ice breakers and highest ice-class cargo vessels feature Azipod propulsion from ABB.