Star Azipod News and progress

[casofilia]

We are thinking of booking Star in May for Greek Isle from Venice itinenary. This thread has been quiet since Feb end. Can we presume everything is OK with Star?

 

I would assume that too; if there had been a problem this thread would have been bombarded with posts and other threads started.

[tomberly]

I would assume that too; if there had been a problem this thread would have been bombarded with posts and other threads started.

 

 

Current reviews on CC for NCL Star all indicate that the problem has been fixed. My DH and I are looking forward to sailing on her in September.

[B35]

I would assume that too; if there had been a problem this thread would have been bombarded with posts and other threads started.

For the 11nights we were on the Star from Singapore both Azipods were working excellently, I had regular looks over the back. Unfortunately my wife took ill and we had to leave the ship early 7 days before the end of the cruise :-(

[joluvscruzin]

Current reviews on CC for NCL Star all indicate that the problem has been fixed. My DH and I are looking forward to sailing on her in September.

We were on the Star for the cruise after the "Cruise to Nowhere" from Auckland to Singapore with no problems. I asked the captain about the repairs at the Q&A and he explained how the needed parts from Italy were installed in Melbourne. He said the mechanics climbed down inside the azipods to replace the faulty parts. He was very relieved to have her fully functional again after all of the problems. BTW Singapore is a fascinating country with so much to see. Definitely plan a trip if you haven't been there!

[musicmastimagic]

Thanks for all the reassurance! We made our reservation today :D

[casofilia]

Thanks for all the reassurance! We made our reservation today :D

 

Enjoy your cruise. If the same staff are there who were there when we were on it from Rome to Singapore they were excellent.

[Birder1]

I'm currently on the Star & no issues at this time. Seas have been smooth & we're sailing past Yemen as we speak!

[rscales2]

I hope the Stars is Okay! I am taking my cruise credit and rewards to the Epic on the April 1 & 14 cruise!!!!!

 

 

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[opmet]

There will be a formal investigation - it will be interesting to read. Unfortunately these things take months.

 

http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2017/mair/329-mo-2017-003/

 

A preliminary report was out today....

[MargateKev]

A preliminary report was out today....

Thanks, interesting to read that both the first two azipod failures were the same issue, not what we we led to believe by NCL.

Maybe the initial repair was flawed for the third failure and ABB must bear some liability.

 

Look forward to reading the final report.

[herdingdogmom]

A preliminary report was out today..

http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/...9-mo-2017-003/ ..

 

Agree with MK, very interesting that the azipod failures are likely the same issue and the modification didn't work properly in the first repair. Hopefully, ABB knows what to look for now since these were not the usual failures they encounter. We really lucked out with the calm seas and weather when we were adrift.

[chengkp75]

And very interesting to me. After the first failure, I would have expected the ship or ABB to have checked the insulation condition of the other exciter winding (port unit) to see if the starboard failure was atypical or whether it indicated an age condition that needed to be addressed by more frequent preventative maintenance. If this was done at the time of the first failure, and the port unit was found in good condition, then this would indeed be a freak incident, but I suspect that it might not have been caught at the time.

 

The class societies (insurance underwriters for ships), the maritime safety agencies around the world (like the ATSB) and the shipping companies all pretty much rely on the manufacturer's recommendations of maintenance schedules and periodic replacements, since they are the ones who have field data from the various customers who have their equipment around the world. So, when the "pros from Dover" from ABB show up, the engineers onboard tend to listen to them, and follow their lead.

 

Whether ABB has any historical data regarding failures of the exciter windings on other ships, I can't say, but the second failure would certainly point at least in their direction. I don't really blame NCL for trying the modification, as this was obviously proposed by ABB, and may have been an variant design from the start, so again, ABB shoulders some of the responsibility here.

 

It sounds from the report that the ABB tech reps were onboard when the ship sailed from Melbourne, and the repairs to the port unit were being done underway (though that's not clear). As to why the starboard modification failed, it sounds like either the structure of the modification was insufficiently strong or something came loose due to vibration. Again, the structural support possibility is on ABB, while the possible vibration loosening is on both ABB for not recommending a periodic check after installation, and on NCL for not considering this as good engineering practice.

 

But for the larger picture of folks blaming poor maintenance, or deferred maintenance as the reason the Star has had so many azipod problems, this doesn't tie into that real well. Past issues have been seals and bearings, not electrical problems. Now, routine, scheduled testing of insulation on major electrical equipment is standard marine practice, so whether or not NCL conducted this on a regular basis, would go a long way in determining who bears the most responsibility for this recent series of failures.

[Son of a son of a ...]

Maybe the dingo ate your azipod.

[casofilia]

I wonder if NCL has emailed a copy of the report to everyone who was affected by the problems. If not, why not?

[chengkp75]

I wonder if NCL has emailed a copy of the report to everyone who was affected by the problems. If not, why not?

 

I don't understand why they would, or should. If an airplane has a failure and is pulled from service and causes delays and missed flights to lots of people (and even ripple effect due to loss of equipment at further airports), do the airlines send out reports of what was wrong with the plane to everyone affected? I just don't get why cruise lines are supposed to be held to more transparency than other industries.

[herdingdogmom]

It sounds from the report that the ABB tech reps were onboard when the ship sailed from Melbourne, and the repairs to the port unit were being done underway (though that's not clear).

Thanks for your input chengkp - always interesting.

 

On the Sydney to Melbourne adrift at sea cruise, the HD said at the M & G that more ABB technicians came on board in Australia - Darwin I think. As far as we could tell, the issue was worked on when the ship was at the re-scheduled overnight ports.

 

The first time we were in Melbourne, the Captain said they were working on the repairs so they must have received the 2nd modification parts by then. We left Melbourne before the second repair was complete and then the first repair failed that night.

 

We chose to leave the ship and continue with our New Zealand vacation. Just glad it is all behind us at this point and that the Star has had no further problems with the azipod modifications/repairs since leaving Melbourne on Feb. 14. She's now doing med cruises out of Venice.