Re Contract

ABB Ltd
17 March 2004

ABB wins marine contracts worth $110 million
Propulsion, electrical and automation systems support new shipbuilding activity


Zurich, Switzerland, March 17, 2004 - ABB, the leading power and automation
technology group, announced today it has signed contracts worth some $110
million to supply Azipod propulsion, electrical power, distribution, and
automation systems for a total of nine vessels. They are being built for
Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Russian joint venture investors
CJSV Sevmorneftegaz, and French maritime operator Groupe Bourbon.


ABB said the contracts to supply systems for three new cruise ships, two
icebreakers and four oil and gas platform vessels signal encouraging capital
spending activity in the global ship-building industry and that the company is
well prepared to support new construction.


'As a leader in the marine industry, we have continued to invest in
technological innovations for this important market segment in anticipation of
advanced projects like these,' said Dinesh Paliwal, head of ABB's Automation
Technologies division. 'Constant development of the Azipod system and our other
marine solutions ensures cutting-edge safety and efficiency features are built
into the designs, which help our customers improve the quality and reliability
of their vessels.'



The patented ABB Azipod system is a modular, podded propulsion unit fitted
outside the vessel and capable of steering over a 360-degree range. It offers
superior maneuverability and significant reductions in fuel consumption, noise,
vibration and interior space once needed for conventional drive train and rudder
components.



Kvaerner Masa-Yards of Turku, Finland will build the largest cruise vessel
afloat, rated at nearly 160,000 gross registered tons and up to 3,600
passengers, for Royal Caribbean Cruises. Meyer Werft of Papenburg, Germany will
build two 93,000 gross registered ton cruise ships with a capacity of 2,400
lower berths each for Norwegian Cruise Line. Norwegian shipyard Havyard Leirvik
will build the two icebreakers for CJSV Sevmorneftegaz and China's Zhejiang
Shipbuilding will build the four platform vessels for Groupe Bourbon. The
various vessels will be completed during 2005 and 2006.



ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable
utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering
environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100
countries and employs about 115,000 people.



Azipod-pictures can be downloaded from ABB's Web site news center (www.abb.com/
news)





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