Diamond Princess is a cruise ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises. She began operation in March 2004 and primarily cruises in Alaska during the summer and the Asia in the winter. She is a Grand Class ship and subclassed as a Gem Class ship. Her and her sister ship, Sapphire Princess, are the largest subclass of Grand class ships, as they have a beam of 123ft while all other Grand Class ships have a beam of 118ft. Diamond princess and her fleet mate Sapphire Princess were both were built in Nagasaki, Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
[edit] Construction
The ship's hull was originally due to be called the Sapphire Princess. Construction was delayed when a huge fire swept through the ship's decks during construction. Because the ship's completion would be delayed for some time, her sister ship, which was being constructed at the same time, assumed the role of the Sapphire. This name swap helped to keep the delivery date of the Sapphire on time, while delaying the delivery of the Diamond. It was the first Princess Cruises ship to be built in a Japanese shipyard and lacks the "wing" or "spoiler" across the rear (which can be seen on the Caribbean Princess.)
[edit] Machinery
The diesel-electric plant consists of four diesel generators and a gas turbine generator. The diesel generators are Wärtsilä 46 series common rail engines, two of the straight 9-cylinder configuration, and two of the straight 8-cylinder configuration. The 8- and 9-cylinder engines can produce approximately 81⁄2 and 91⁄2 MW of power respectively. These engines are fueled with Heavy Fuel oil (HFO or bunker c) and Marine Gas Oil (MGO) depending on the local regulations regarding emissions, as MGO produces much lower emissions but is much more expensive. The gas turbine generator is a GE 2500, producing a peak of 25 MW of power and being fueled by MGO. This generator is much more expensive to run than the diesel generators, and is used mostly in areas, such as Alaska, where the emissions regulations are strict. It is also used when top speed is required to make it to a port in a short time period. There are two propulsion electric motors which drive fixed-pitch propellers and six thrusters used during maneuvering; three bow and three stern. The propulsion electric motors (PEMs), are conventional synchronous motors made by Alstom Motors. The two motors are each rated to 20 MW and have a maximum speed of 154 rpm. (Rated speed of 0-145 rpm.)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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| Grand class |
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| Diamond class |
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| Caribbean class |
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| Crown class |
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| Ventura class |
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| Current fleet |
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Former fleet
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