The first diesel-electric ship built in India to incorporate medium voltage equipment

India continues to grow as a global center of technological excellence, accounting for 10 percent of research and development and home to five of the top ten science and technology schools in Asia.  A Govt. of India entity, having a network of more than 50 laboratories deeply engaged in developing a range of technologies from electronic and computer sciences, through life sciences and materials, to marine research and development, will invest in a new scientific research platform vessel to be built by Bharati Shipyard, based in Mumbai.

The Class XII merchant vessel will host scientists from various Indian government scientific laboratories. It will be used to carry out multi-purpose research along the coastal sea belt of India.

Bharati has chosen GE Power Conversion, with its extensive experience and understanding of the global marine industry, to supply the power and propulsion system for the ship. This will be the first diesel-electric ship built in India to incorporate medium voltage equipment, an area in which GE already has a strong position globally. Delivery of the vessel is expected in the year 2015.

Bharati has signed two contracts with GE for the current project. The main one is with GE Power Conversion in France for design, production and supply of the power and propulsion equipment (generators, motors, and drives). The supplementary contract is with GE Power Conversion in India, which will be responsible for technical services, design, documentation, installation checks, commissioning and sea trials.

“One of the key reasons why Bharati wanted to work with GE is because of their ability to provide strong local engineering and technical support,” says Partho Burmon Roy, a Director at Bharati Shipyard.  “Our two companies know each other well, having worked together in the past on offshore projects.”

The medium voltage propulsion system is rated at 3.3 kV, with two propulsion motors of 5 MW. Each motor is fitted with one of GE’s MV7000 drives, which stand out from the pack with their high efficiency and control flexibility. MV7000 drive technology can be applied to a wide range of equipment: the drives can feed both induction and synchronous machines with high performance vector control across all speed ranges.

Vivek Venkatachalam, CEO at GE Power Conversion – India says: “GE is partnering India in its growth and development and this new project is a step towards this direction. We are happy that Bharati Shipyard has entrusted us to deliver a medium voltage propulsion system that will be unique in the Indian waters. GE is also excited since this is first of its kind in India and the end user of this Medium Voltage Diesel Electric Propulsion Vessel will be a Government of India entity. Overall, India has good prospects for power and propulsion systems in the marine industry.”