Damen Marine Components (DMC) has received the contract to supply the rudders and steering gear for a fifth Infinity-class vessel.
To be built for SunStone Ships by China Merchants Heavy Industries to an Ulstein design, the contract was awarded again by propulsion specialist Brunvoll Volda, with whom DMC is working on this ongoing series.
DMC will supply two patented Van der Velden ATLANTIC rudders and two Van der Velden COMMANDER rotary vane steering gear systems.
ATLANTIC is a full-spade rudder with a surface area of eight sq m and steering gear torque of 110 kNm. It is claimed to be able to deliver excellent course-keeping, particularly on long-distance, straight line voyages.
The COMMANDER steering gear is likewise suitable for long-distance, open ocean vessels. It has a simple, robust and compact design with just one moving part and a compact actuator for the smoothest rudder movements.
Mounted inside closed housings, DMC’s sealing technology prevents internal leakage and ensures a greatly extended seal life. The result is trouble-free operation for more than 60,000 hours between inspections, the company claimed.
DMC components are an integral part of the system supply from Brunvoll, consisting of gearboxes and propellers, rudders, steering gear, a tunnel thruster and control systems. The propulsion system is a twin-screw, diesel-electric configuration.
“This is a strategically important contract for Brunvoll as it confirms our position as an integrated system supplier of propulsion, manoeuvring and control systems to the cruise segment,” said Geir-Arne Kaspersen, Vice President Sales of Brunvoll Volda.
Wim Knoester, DMC Director Sales and Marketing, added “We are glad that Damen Marine Components is part of the INFINITY-class project. We are looking forward to continuing our relationship with our partners Brunvoll Volda and to completing the initial agreement of 10 vessels.”
Sunstone Ships specialises in the commercial management of passenger ships, responsible for the buying, selling and chartering of its managed fleet.
In line with its focus on the small ship/expedition cruise segment, the Infinity class is 104 m long, has a beam of 18 m and a draught of 5.3 m.
They can accommodate up to 200 pax and 115 crew members, and are built to Ice Class 1A, Polar Code 6 and Safe Return to Port specifications. Additional features include Ulstein’s patented X-BOW design, dynamic positioning and zero speed stabilisers.
Of the five vessels already ordered, the first, named ‘Greg Mortimer’, was delivered in September, 2019 and is chartered to Aurora Cruises Australia.
The next four vessels; the ‘Ocean Victory’, ‘Ocean Explorer’, ‘Ocean Odyssey’ and ‘Ocean Discoverer’, are scheduled for delivery in September, 2020, February, 2021, March, 2022 and September, 2022, respectively.
SunStone is also in negotiations for another five vessels of the same class.
