In the cruise ship industry, the race for the title of Worlds largest is still on. In 2003, Cunard stole the crown for world’s largest cruise ship when it launched the 151,410-ton Queen Mary 2; three years later Royal Caribbean topped it with the 154,000-ton Freedom of the Seas. Now, Royal Caribbean is set to raise the stakes yet again with the 220,000-ton Oasis of the Seas, slated to launch December 1 2009 from a shipyard in Turku, Finland.
Costing in the region of $1.2 Billion to build, the Genisis class cruiser will have accomodation for up to 7300 paying passengers, is 1,181 ft (360 m) long, towers 213 ft (65 m) above water line and has 16 passenger decks.
The ship’s three main propellers, called Azipods, can swivel 360 degrees on independent bearings. All are driven by 20 MW electric motors powered by the ship’s central bank of 8 x V12 12.8 MW (17,500 hp each) diesel generators, and steered by an integrated navigation and control system. From the bridge, the captain will be able to move the ship in any direction — forward, backward, sideways — with the flick of a joystick. No tugboats required.
With over 100 MW of on-board electricity generation capacity and 60 MW worth of electric propulsion motors the almost quarter million ton Oasis of the Seas can sail at 20.2 kn (37.4 km/h, 23.2 mph)
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