OREANDA-NEWS. South Korea is a global shipbuilding hub where some of the world’s largest shipbuilders operate competitively to ensure the highest standards. GE Marine has long been a partner for Korea in this market, recognizing both Korea’s global leadership position and the vital importance that the sector has for the country’s economy.

Korea’s shipbuilders produce a wide range of vessel types with production targeting high-value ships. GE is a leading player in the digital transformation of the marine industry, helping the industry harness the power of data to improve uptime, operational efficiency and return on investment. Given the high costs of production and operation of high-end vessels, even incremental improvements in efficiency generate substantial gains in terms of additional revenues and reduced costs.

“Present macroeconomic conditions have pressed significant challenges on local shipbuilders. Operators are looking for technological rich solutions to reduce costs while increasing efficiency. It’s a clear time of opportunity when ‘disruptive innovations’ such as the Industrial Internet will drive the industry forward,” said Tim Schweikert, VP, GE Marine. “GE is one of the few global companies with the extensive industry expertise coupled with the ability to build software solutions that can drive customer profitability even during an industry down cycle. In helping customers reach excellence in digital marine capability, we believe Korea’s shipbuilding industry will possess a powerful differentiator in the global market to increase competitiveness.”

Today at booth 3J09 at Kormarine 2015, GE Marine will demonstrate how its presence and expertise across industries provides value for shipyards, ship operators and owners. From design, solution to service, GE’s digital marine has 360o capability to help operators get connected, get insight, and get vessels optimized. Key technology showcases include:

·         SeaLab and Vessel Performance Analyzer (VesPA):

GE’s SeaLab brings together the company’s expertise (analysis and tools) and solutions (products and systems) to work directly with naval architects and vessel designers to help create better ships through design. In a recent design investigation in GE’s SeaLab, careful system design reduced the installed power requirement by 25% compared to the baseline design, making it possible for vessels to operate with smaller engines and thereby reducing CAPEX and fuel costs while increasing payload within the hull.

GE’s VesPA provides real-time comparisons of multiple electrical configurations, enabling GE to design, configure and enhance power, propulsion and electrical solutions in collaboration with our customers to match their vessel performance requirements. VesPA also calculates the annual operational expenditures of the design, so equipment selections can be made to minimize fuel consumption and reduce operational expenditure.

·         GE Marine Mapper

GE’s new map based search tool provides visibility of over 1,000 vessels supported by GE’s fleet management team. GEMM provides our experts instant access to recent vessel location with details of installed equipment including service and maintenance data, helping resolve problems, no matter what or where they are. GE’s global network of local service centres— ready with spare parts and field engineers — help ensure that you’ll have the resources to prevent and correct issues, even on highly complex systems deployed in inaccessible locations.

·         SeaStream* DP

GE’s mariner-friendly package of marine acknowledges the unique skills and high expectations of the mariners operating the dynamic positioning system, allowing them to re-focus on seamanship and ship handling rather than operating a complex system. It includes an ecomagination* energy efficient mode which is anticipated to deliver up to 10% or potentially more in fuel savings while reducing NOx by up to 20% depending on environmental factors and exact operational profile.

·         SeaStream* Insight

SeaStream* Insight, the new addition to GE Marine’s SeaStream* package, is the latest innovation in marine remote monitoring and asset support. It provides a holistic view of on-board systems, allowing operators to access the true state of the assets and empowering them to make smart decisions. It offers remote monitoring capability which allows GE experts to track problems in real time, reducing third party service cost and solving problems faster. It also uses predictive analytics to transit from prescriptive (time-based) maintenance to predictive (plan-based) maintenance, reducing downtime and potentially increasing customers’ revenues.

Other technology showcases will include:

·         250 Series Diesel Engine

GE is one of the leading manufacturers of medium-speed diesel engines in the world. In our 250 series marine engine, we’ve combined the best features of earlier engine designs with advanced features to deliver efficiency, reliability and performance advantages. In South Korea, we have delivered five 16V250 marine diesel engines to power tuna purse seiners. Our latest 250 series engine development meets IMO Tier III in-engine, without the use of Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) or urea after-treatment.

·         Integrated Compressor Line (ICL) 

ICL is a centrifugal compressor directly driven by high-speed electric motors for applications up to 15 MW / 20,000 hp. It delivers high efficiency and reliability, fast start/stop, low maintenance, low operating cost, and a much broader operating range than conventional compressors. Clean, efficient and convenient, ICL is the ideal compression solution when a small footprint and low noise level are important.

·        Exhaust Heat-to-Power Products

Echogen Power Systems’ exhaust heat-to-power products use CO2 in a closed loop configuration. These products enhance GE's mechanical, hybrid and all-electric propulsion system solutions, allowing the overall system thermal efficiency to increase up to 50%.

* Indicates a trademark of the General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries.