Safe and secure cruising at all times – with the ENERTRONIC modular SE on the high seas

The solution recently implemented by BENNING on the cruise ship is an ENERTRONIC modular SE UPS, designed with IP22 protection degree, with a total power of 200 kVA provided by five 40 kVA power modules with inbuilt N+1 redundancy.

To meet the special requirements on the 275-meter-long ocean liner, the UPS is equipped with the MCU 3000 (Monitoring Control Unit 3000) remote monitoring system, which offers extensive reporting and monitoring functions as well as standard interfaces for connection to common PC systems. The MCU 3000 controller module is also capable of communicating locally with on-board services and (on request) remotely with BENNING engineers. The entire system is installed in the technical room on board the ship, more precisely in the Emergency Diesel Generator Room (EDG).

The UPS solution is characterized by maximum availability, hot-swap capability and a consistently modular design with decentralized architecture and static bypass lines within each power module – i.e. by a parallel architecture of the modules that effectively excludes any “single point of failure”. For this purpose, all critical components including bypass and control units have been relocated to the module level and, in some cases, additionally designed with redundancy therein. To increase system availability, the implemented “Multiple Master” technology also enables each ENERTRONIC modular SE module to automatically switch to master or slave mode. The high power density also enables space-saving installation, which allows for the limited space on board.

In offering the ENERTRONIC modular SE UPS system, BENNING combines the advantages of maximum reliability and lowest repair times (MTTR) to create a UPS system that meets even extreme requirements for the availability and quality of a safe power supply. Thanks to the use of high-quality components and the generous dimensioning of the components in the critical path, the UPS system is thus optimally designed for critical application environments.  This applies to the use in cruise ships as well as to the areas of process automation and telecommunications or the gas, oil & petrochemical industry.

Due to the scalability and the very high system efficiencies, even at partial load, particularly low ongoing operating costs are possible with the ENERTRONIC modular SE without restrictions in terms of voltage quality and system availability. From the cruise line’s point of view, the ENERTRONIC modular SE’s readiness for certification by Bureau Veritas or other marine certifiers spoke in favor of the BENNING solution, as did the advantage that the new UPS system could be optimally integrated into the space occupied by the previous system.
With these outstanding features, BENNING convinced the client that it could offer the optimal replacement for the original monolithic UPS that had been used by the ocean liner since its maiden voyage almost 20 years ago.

However, BENNING was able to gain points not only with the specifications of its technical solutions, but also through customer orientation and prompt as well as reliable service. The excellent experience dates back to the very first contact between the cruise specialist and BENNING Italy. The cruise line needed technical support for another ship in those days and was pleased with the responsive and positive resolution of the issue. Meanwhile, these BENNING systems have proven their long lasting operating life and easy serviceability on board.

A new dimension of cooperation arose when, in 2021, BENNING was invited to bid for the renewal of the UPS on the ocean liner, which has been used in cruise operations for almost two decades, – and was promptly given preference over strong competitors. In the course of implementation, BENNING was able to master a number of scheduling and logistical challenges. For example, between the start of planning – during which BENNING engineers analyzed the old system on board the ship – and the installation of the new ENERTRONIC modular SE UPS, there was only around half a year.
The installation itself turned out to be particularly time-critical. There was only a short time slot available for it during the cruisers stay in dry dock in Malta in March 2022.
This meant that all processes had to be perfectly coordinated – which was achieved in full: the available time frame, especially for the work on board, was kept perfectly and the UPS system was properly commissioned.

This successfully completed project and the convincing performance of the ENERTRONIC modular SE during the further operation of the ocean liner, convinced the cruise line to award further projects with BENNING solutions. The client and BENNING are thus continuing on a course of partnership and the highly available, reliable ENERTRONIC modular UPS systems are contributing to safety on the high seas.