Successful Delivery of MSC 2# Ro-Ro Passenger Ship with NGC Marine's Gearboxes Supplied to KONGSBERG
On April 16, the European luxury Ro-Ro Passenger ship GNV ORION, equipped with main propulsion gearboxes supplied by Nanjing High Accurate Marine Equipment Co., Ltd. (NGC Marine) to KONGSBERG, was officially named and delivered. The vessel, constructed by Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited (GSI, under China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited/CSSC) for Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV), a passenger ferry operator owned by the world's leading transport and logistics company, Mediterranean Shipping Group (MSC), marks the second delivery in a series of four vessels.
Under the contract between NGC Marine and KONGSBERG for four luxury ro-ro passenger ships, the first vessel, GNV POLARIS, was delivered in October 2024 and has been put into operation on Mediterranean routes. The newly delivered second vessel, along with the third and fourth vessels under construction, will also serve Mediterranean routes.
The vessel of GNV ORION measures 218 meters in overall length, 29.6 meters in width, and boasts a gross tonnage of 52,912 tons. It features 492 passenger cabins accommodating 1,800 passengers and a 3,100-meter vehicle lane capable of carrying over 600 cars or 200 forty-foot container trailers. With a design speed of 25 knots, the propulsion system adopts a four-engine, twin-propeller configuration, integrating two sets of KONGSBERG-supplied CPP and two sets of NGC Marine-supplied dual-engine parallel gearboxes to be powered by four Wartsila supplied main engines (10,350 kW each), ensuring a stable and reliable propulsion system.
The main propulsion gearboxes were entirely designed and manufactured by NGC Marine. In this vessel, two input diesel engines are positioned on the same side of the output shaft, and are arranged in front and behind the main engine separately. To meet such engine room layout, the gearbox utilizes a unique dual-engine parallel structure: the twin-input is integrated into a single shaft before transferring power to the propeller shaft, achieving a single-stage transmission capacity of 20,700 kW. Addressing challenges such as structural complexity, high reliability requirements, compact installation space and high integration difficulties, the technical team from NGC Marine conducted various ways including rigorous theoretical analysis, finite element simulations by CAE, and 3D modeling to validate the design. During sea trial, the gearboxes demonstrated excellent performance, meeting all specifications and earning acclaim from RINA surveyors, KONGSBERG, Wartsila and GSI.
The supply Contract for eight gearboxes across four vessels represents NGC Marine's second collaboration with KONGSBERG on luxury ro-ro passenger ships. Based on the successful cooperation in existing projects, the third Contract for large ro-ro passenger ship propulsion gearbox is under negotiation. In recent years, NGC Marine has secured multiple Contracts from industry leaders such as MAN, Wartsila and KONGSBERG, underscoring its advanced technical capabilities and growing trust among European clients in the field of marine propulsion gear system.