ABB Brings Efficiency and Sustainability through Ferry Integration

ABB signs contract with Cochin Shipyard Ltd, the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in India, to deliver a first-ever integrated power and automation package to an Indian shipowner.

ABB’s contract with Cochin Shipyard Ltd covers two new 1,200-passenger ferries, to be delivered to the Andaman & Nicobar Administration in 2020. In a first for a shipowner in India, these vessels will benefit from a full integration of their power generation, distribution and propulsion systems, enabled by the ABB Ability™ System 800xA automation on board.

ABB’s scope of supply includes generators, main switchboards, transformers, the power management and propulsion control systems, propulsion motors and drives, as well as the integrated alarm, monitoring and control system (IAMCS).

The ferries will be operated by Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) in services connecting mainland India with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal.

“These ferries will play a significant part in meeting the demands of the growing local infrastructure and proving transport links within the Bay of Bengal, said Shri Madhu S Nair, Chairman and Managing Director of Cochin Shipyard Ltd. “We look forward to working together with ABB for integrating modern vessel management techniques and leveraging each other’s capabilities on these vessels, which we are confident would be the best amongst the Administration’s fleet once they are put into service.”

“Indian owners recognize the efficiency and sustainability benefits available through integration,” said Juha Koskela, Managing Director, ABB Marine & Ports. “This order is a major breakthrough for ABB’s integrated power and automation technology in a new market, but it also highlights that equivalent benefits are available to owners from our ‘Electric. Digital. Connected.’ approach anywhere in the world. Shipowners and operators in any market can benefit from the connectivity and remote management techniques, optimizing them by choosing shipboard systems that are themselves characterized by integration and digitalization.”

Vessels specifications demand that the ferries are fully capable of international voyages. ABB’s experience in designing electrical and automation systems for ships complying with the International Maritime Organization’s Safe Return to Port (SRtP) requirements for passenger ships had been a key differentiator in power and automation selection. This focus increases the safety, availability and reliability of the onboard system allowing predictability in operations.

In line with ABB’s “Electric. Digital. Connected.” approach that envisages shipping’s digital and connected future, these ferries will have the capability to leverage the ABB Ability™ Remote Diagnostic Services for Marine, should they opt to join ABB's global Collaborative Operations network. The network uses remote equipment monitoring and data analytics to enable predictive maintenance, planned interventions or even remote technical support, supported from seven existing shore-based ABB Marine & Ports’ Collaborative Operations Centers staffed by ABB experts.