Hapag Lloyd displayed solid confidence in the growth of the European-based cruise business, when they recently announced the order of a new luxury cruise liner, Europa 2, from the STX France shipyard.  They chose Rolls Royce engineered 'Mermaid' pod propulsion (in consortium with power conversion specialists Converteam) to propel (and steer) the new cruise liner, despite widely publicised problems with Mermaid in ships of Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines during the past year. Mermaid Pods – Difficulties Overcome?With the increasing popularity of diesel- electric configurations as the means of propulsion for many large cruise liners, the Mermaid pod system serves both as propulsor and rudder, with an integrated electric motor directly coupled, without any gearing, to a relatively short propellor shaft; all contained within the hydrodynamically streamlined pod housing. Mermaid Pod: Schematic courtesy of RR Difficulties with Mermaid have occurred in the past year o... [More]

ZF Marine LLC the North American division of the global ZF Marine Group introduced a revolutionary new approach to POD drive and joystick control technology in small pleasure craft applications. Now joystick control is available to an even larger segment of the pleasure boat market. [More]

The offshore wind workboat Performer will soon be delivered to Northern Offshore Services in Sweden and will go straight into duty in an offshore wind power park south of Denmark. [More]