GE: Shipping Industry Faces "Perfect Storm"

The MSC Preziosa features GE technology

Reiterating its commitment to technological innovations to improve ship performance, GE Power Conversion says fuel efficiency is one of the keys to financial competitiveness for ship owners.

"The making of today's perfect storms results from a combination of the industries financial restraints and environmental responsibility coupled with the need to go further, deeper, faster in ever more challenging environments," the company said.

"Ship's crews, captains, owners and operators weather these risks every day."

The company said its Variable Frequency Active Front-End power and propulsion system (VF-AFE), introduced this year, reduces fuel consumption, cuts emissions, and reduces the need for maintenance while using conventional components.

GE also cited its electrical propulsion systems technology, including the new Inovelis pump jet-podded thruster, along with data management and positioning systems, as methods for making performance more efficient.

The company also argued that providing technology in an integrated fashion helps improve performance more than the various components used separately.

"At GE, we see the whole ship. That's because we engineer and supply so much of it, from gas turbines and diesel engines to rotating machines, variable speed drives, drilling systems and automation and control," said Paul English, marine vertical leader for the company.

"But it's when we bring it all together to form integrated systems that the full synergies and harmonies in terms of operational efficiency and performance truly emerge."