Ship&Offshore | Issue 06/2017
Thruster range with more powerful unit
Offshore market | Tests of Schottel’s latest 5.5-MW thruster have been successfully completed at the Potsdam Shipbuilding Research Establishment in Germany and the new unit is now commercially available for newbuildings and retrofits. The SRP 800 U rudder propeller is the most powerful yet in the German company’s thruster range and is aimed at the operators of large offshore vessels such as cable layers, construction vessels, crane ships, drillships and rigs. The new thruster can be used either as a main propulsion unit, or as positioning aid on a semi-submersible rig, for example. A key feature of the design is that it can be installed while vessels are afloat and is therefore well-suited to vessels or rigs which cannot be docked easily owing to their size or operational area. The unit has undergone safety tests which exceed classification society requirements including a full load gear test to check the gearing of the bevel gear set.