Cruise Fever is reporting that Royal Caribbean is having to rearrange the itineraries for the Allure of the Seas for the next five months due to mechanical issues with one of the three Azipods, the pod propulsion units which drive the ship. The ship is one of the largest cruise ships in the world with a capacity of over 8,000 passengers and crew.  Royal Caribbean will be dropping certain port calls as the ship will be operating at slower speeds with only two functioning pods. Apparently, 25 different itineraries are being modified. 

The news has a strong sense of déjà vu.  In early 2014, the Allure of the Seas was taken out of service to repair a faulty azipod. The ship, delivered in late 2010, has been having pod problems for most of its operating life. 

The Allure of the Seas is not the only Royal Caribbean ship which has had Azipod problems. Last year an eleven-day cruise on Radiance of the Seas was canceled due to Azipod problems.  Adventure of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas have also suffered from pod failures.

As we posted in November of 2013:

Propulsion pods may be the greatest thing that ever happened to cruise ships. Or maybe the worst, when they don’t work, which is far too often.  A propulsion pod is an electric motor which drives a propeller mounted on a rotating “pod” which extends out from the bottom of the ship.  Because they can be made to rotate 360 degrees, the pod replaces the traditional rudder and stern thrusters and does away with the need for long propeller shaft runs. They are more fuel efficient than conventionally mounted propellers, by around 6-9%, which given today’s fuel costs is significant.  Two manufacturers dominate pod propulsion — Rolls Royce who manufactures the “Mermaid pod” and ABB which manufactures the “Azipod.”

The problem is that all of the thrust of the propeller is transmitted to the ship’s hull by the circular bearing that connects the pod to the ship — the bearing that also has to rotate through 360 degrees. These bearing have been failing far more frequently than they should. This is apparently what has happened on at least one of the three Azipods on the Allure of the Seas. Because RCCL detected excessive bearing wear, they initially slowed the ship to reduce the load on the bearing and then decided to take the ship out of service.

This is by no means the first time that propulsion pods have knocked cruise ships out of service.  In 2000 the Carnival Paradise was pulled from service due to failed Azipods.  Carnival and Royal Caribbean have had greater problems with the Rolls Royce Mermaid pods.  In 2010, Royal Caribbean settled a lawsuit with Rolls Rolls over pod failures on the Celebrity Cruises’ Millennium-class ships. Celebrity is a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean. Rolls Royce reportedly paid Royal Caribbean $65 million for the failures.  In 2011, Carnival Cruise Lines was awarded $24 million in a lawsuit with Rolls Royce over Mermaid pod breakdowns.