Schottel propulsion picked for German LNG-fueled trio

Abeking & Rasmussen ship and yacht shipyard (A&R) in Lemwerder has ordered Schottel propulsion systems for three new LNG-fueled vessels on order by the German government.

Schottel said that the three vessels are ordered for the Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV).

Planning and design as well as tendering and continuous construction supervision are carried out by the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute (BAW), Ship Technology division.

The newly designed A&R vessels will run exclusively on liquid natural gas (LNG).

Each of the identical WSV special vessels, which are over 90 meters long, will be driven by two Schottel RudderPropellers, each with a power output of 4,500 kW.

This allows the vessels to reach a speed of over 15 knots and a bollard pull of at least 145 tonnes.

In addition, all three vessels will be equipped with Schottel MariHub, Schottel’s data acquisition and IoT gateway system. It records and analyses signals from sensors, machinery and other components which can then be evaluated by Schottel for the customer.

The tasks of the multi-purpose vessels are include working on sea marks, performing waterways police missions, combating pollutant spills and fighting fires, emergency towing within the scope of maritime emergency preparedness guidelines, taking care of injured persons at sea and the deployment of hydroacoustic equipment.

The three new vessels will replace the multi-purpose vessels Mellum, Scharhörn and Neuwerk. The vessels which are approved for worldwide deployment will operate in German coastal waters in the North Sea and Baltic Sea.

The first of the new special vessels is scheduled to enter service in 2023, the second a year later and the third in 2025.