Propulsor News

Robert Allan Ltd. is has announced the signing of a new contract in November 2025 for the design of a TundRA 3100 icebreaking tug for the Port of Skellefteå, Sweden. This latest addition to the TundRA series is specifically engineered for the demanding conditions of Arctic and sub-Arctic ports, offering exceptional capabilities for icebreaking, ship assist, and escort services.With the TundRA 3100, the Port of Skellefteå will benefit from enhanced ice management capabilities, reduced winter downtime, and improved safety for vessels operating in icy waters.

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management (Arcline), has finalized its acquisition of the Rolls-Royce Naval Propulsors business.The milestone was celebrated at the newly acquired Pascagoula, Mississippi, foundry, where Governor Tate Reeves, Fairbanks Morse Defense CEO Steve Pykett, Jackson County Economic Development Foundation Deputy Director Mary Martha Henson, and other community and industry leaders gathered to recognize the significance…

Globally recognized maritime research institute MARIN has verified that efficiency levels modeled for ABB Dynafin™ propulsion concept will convert to real-world ship performance gains, following tests at its Concept Basin in the Netherlands.Launched in May 2023, after a decade of development, ABB Dynafin™ consists of a main electric motor that powers the rotation of a large horizontal wheel which supports vertical blades – each controlled by an individual motor to mimic the motion of a whale’s tail.

BAE Systems announced it has been awarded a $92 million U.S. Navy contract to continue building propulsors for the Virginia-class submarine program. Under this contract, BAE Systems will deliver the Propulsor Forward Assemblies, as well as design engineering support services and support and sustainment hardware.“During the more than three decades that BAE Systems has manufactured propulsors for the U.S. Navy’s submarine fleet, we have developed significant expertise in the fabrication of complex heavy structures…

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) on Thursday announced it has struck a deal with Rolls-Royce to acquire its naval propulsors and handling business. The acquisition will include a range of propellers and waterjets for naval applications, as well as marine handling systems, which enable the deployment and recovery of manned and unmanned craft, and other cargo, from naval vessels.“When you look at the 150-year history of Fairbanks Morse Defense, you will find a handful of distinctive moments that completely transformed this company.

If the global commercial fleet reduced its speed by 10%, it would reduce underwater radiated noise by 40%, but nothing’s ever that simple.The main thing holding the shipping industry back from reducing its underwater radiated noise (URN) is not a lack of appropriate technology. It’s argued that many of the technologies being implemented today to reduce fuel consumption also reduce noise. So, the noise reductions could essentially come at no net cost to the shipowner, but there’s a lack of regulation and a lack of targeted incentives…

Australian shipbuilder Incat Tasmania is setting a record for the largest, lightweight battery electric ship in the world with a new 130-meter (427-foot) ro-pax ferry under construction for South American customer, Buquebús.The aluminum ferry will be the first fully electric vessel in South America when delivered in 2025, operating between Argentina and Uruguay. It will have a capacity for 2,100 passengers and crew and 225 cars and will feature a duty free shop of over 2,000 square meters (21…

HydroComp is a well-established, small engineering firm focused on hydrodynamic and propulsion system simulation, providing design tools for engineers and naval architects to focus on vessel performance, including emissions. Don MacPherson, HydroComp’s long-tenured Technical Director, discusses the impacts of tightening emissions regulations, with insights on maximizing new vessel designs and refits.Don, maritime has been in the crosshairs of regulators to reduce emissions. What do you see as the top new regulatory issues that are impacting ship and boat design…

ABB said it has secured a contract with the Spanish state-owned Navantia shipbuilding company to retrofit the Spanish Navy flagship Juan Carlos I with an electrical propulsion system based on dual ABB Azipod units. Due completion in 2025, the project is the first of its kind on a naval ship.The contract follows a study undertaken by ABB in 2020 to determine the feasibility of installing new propulsors on the ship. The study identified ABB Azipod as a solution to meet the vessel’s requirements for reliability…

The propulsion system is a critical part of all patrol craft. There are different types of propulsion systems available for use on these craft, and selecting the “best” one for the application at hand is not to be taken lightly. You will note that I used “best” in quotes, which I’ve done to hint at the subjective nature of the decision. Propellers, waterjets, sterndrives, outboards – they are all commercial off the shelf technologies which are mature and used in different patrol craft applications.

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) said on Friday it has been awarded a task order from Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD) to conduct a manufacturing assessment of several new propulsor bearing concept designs for U.S. Navy submarines. The task order is under the Propulsor Demonstration Hardware (PDH) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract previously awarded to GA-EMS.“Manufacturing feasibility evaluations such as this are crucial steps in determining whether a new concept design will deliver greater performance…

Companies planning a new ferry build should focus on the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) instead of kW-power, in order to optimize costs, Steeprop, a designer and manufacturer of azimuth propulsion systems, said.Choosing the propulsion unit based mainly on Capex, for example, will most likely increase costs in the long run, adding that a ferry owner can save more than two million euros over a 15-year period by concentrating on the TCO."The traditional way of handling the procurement of propulsion systems…

As naval architects and marine engineers we are familiar with the design spiral. While design is not truly a spiral, we use the concept to remind ourselves that all pieces of a ship design interact. The design spiral is not a standard figure and can be simplistic or overcomplicated.A Google search image summary provides dozens of interpretations, all investigating different variables, with the only commonality that all spirals start with the “mission” variable.Figure 1 is an old…

Conducting a sea trial is a necessary step upon delivery of a ship. This activity not only documents and validates anticipated ship speed and power, but if done correctly also provides performance data that can be useful for design purposes. The same holds true for underwater vehicles in general and thrusters in particular. However, while gathering data may seem easy, extracting useful trial data for typical UVs can often be pretty challenging.We should start with an understanding of the system – the Vehicle-Propulsor-Drive system.

ABB Marine & Ports said it has developed a new Blended Learning program for Azipod propulsion in response to customers’ requests for safe and efficient training of crews during global travel restrictions.The new program combines traditional classroom training with instructor-led lessons via conference call, assignments and e-learning available on the ABB Marine Academy digital learning platform; remote simulator training developed with support from the Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center in Turku…

ROV manufacturer Forum Energy Technologies has completed the construction of what it says is a highly advanced submarine rescue vehicle (SRV), which may be utilized to extract submariners from distress situations.According to Forum, the LR-class SRV is capable of rescuing up to 17 people at a time and operate at depths of up to 600 meters. "The new model has increased power and an advanced auxiliary thruster control system that allows for speeds of up to four knots, enabling it to operate in high currents.

Inland river pushboats operate in a harsh environment. Transiting our rivers, bays, lakes and inland waterways, these vessels push barges between hubs of commerce. Swift currents, trash and debris, heavy traffic and narrow waterways are day-to-day realities for these vessels and operators.Pushboats have two typical modes of operation: steady-state (long haul running) and transient-dynamic operations (backing, maneuvering and acceleration). Unlike almost any other vessel type,…

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) said it has been awarded a developmental contract by Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division (NSWCCD) to provide manufacturing design drawings, engineering, fabrication, inspection, and assembly of prototype propulsor, shafting and bearing components as well as the equipment needed to support propulsor research and development, testing and evaluation.GA-EMS will work with NSWCCD to develop new propulsor components for both surface ships and submarines.

Rolls-Royce and the Defense Production Act Title III office will invest millions of dollars to upgrade the company’s capability and capacity for U.S. Navy ship propulsion components in its facility in Pascagoula, Miss.The DPA Title III office has already agreed to invest $22 million for equipment, with Rolls-Royce making an additional investment for building improvements, supplemented with support from Jackson County and the state of Mississippi.Naval components manufactured by Rolls-Royce at Pascagoula include controllable-pitch propeller systems, fixed pitch propellers, and water jets.

Dr. Dirk Jürgens heads R&D at Voith Turbo Marine, a part of the family owned Voith conglomerate which employs more than 19,000 people in 60 countries. Voith Rudderpropellers were chosen as the propulsion system for the three new Staten Island Ferry vessels, and Dr. Jürgens discusses the evolution of the system.The ‘Voith’ name is a well-known one in the maritime industry, but to start please provide an overview of the product and service you offer to the maritime industry.The…

While nothing lasts forever, the cruise industry – and particularly the ‘expedition’ cruise sector – remain on a historic run with no indication of a near-term slowdown.The leisure travel sector, of which expedition cruising is a part, offers numerous possibilities for delivering new “experiences” unlike industrial shipping businesses (or even conventional ferry and passenger transport), which can only grow as fast as the demand in a particular sector.Though there is no precise definition of “expedition”…

With the United States and China about to start their respective offshore wind build-ups, grid operators wondering about the efficiency of their turbines or the emissions-areas compliance of their wind-service vessels will be warmed to know there’s someone they can talk to. Yaskawa’s The Switch — a Japanese industrial giant’s European environmental tech business — is offering one-stop wind-energy shopping. As with shipping, you can order permanent magnet generators, drives and converters for your wind turbines. Take heart.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a EUR 14 million venture loan agreement with Sweden’s Cimco Marine AB to co-finance its innovation and growth investments.As per the unsecured credit facility agreement, the EIB will finance up to 50 percent of Cimco’s development of a new family of diesel outboard engines, inter alia a 3 liter, 6- cylinder twin turbo BMW diesel engine with a number of power outputs between 200 hp and 300 hp."The total facility is split into three tranches of EUR 4 million (A), EUR 4 million (B) and EUR 6 million (C) respectively," it said.The availability period for the facility is 30 months from signing, during which Cimco can meet all milestones for tranches A-C.