Schottel to supply its azimuth thrusters for four new eco-friendly tugs

At the end of October this year, Germany-based propulsion system manufacturer Schottel bagged a new order to supply azimuth thrusters for four new environmentally friendly tugs for the U.S.-based Saltchuk Marine.

As disclosed, the vessels will be 25.6 meters long, and 12.8 meters wide, with a draught of 5.50 meters. They are set to be built at Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s Allanton and Port St. Joe facilities. The tugs will reportedly be operated by Saltchuk’s tugging company Foss Maritime, with a scheduled delivery date of 2026.

By choosing Schottel propulsion systems, these four new tugs will become ‘the first vessels’ to kick off Saltchuk’s fleet renewal for operations across the US West Coast, Hawaii, and Alaska, according to the company.

As informed, the RApport 2600 escort tugs, designed by Canadian naval architect Robert Allan, will each feature two azimuth Schottel RudderPropellers (SRP 510). The Z-drives reportedly have a 2,800 mm propeller diameter and are powered by Caterpillar 3516E engines with an input power of 2,610 kW.

This propulsion setup enables the tugs to achieve a bollard pull of over 85 tonnes, Schottel explained.

The German manufacturer’s MariHub condition monitoring system will also be installed, the company shared, allowing for condition-based maintenance through an onboard display and remote analysis.

In addition to these features, the thrusters will reportedly include Schottel LeaCon, a seal monitoring system certified by Norway’s classification society DNV.

As explained, this system was designed to prevent lubrication oil from leaking into the water and water from entering the gearbox, effectively ensuring the propeller shaft sealing is no longer an oil-to-water interface, in line with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulations.

To be specific, the new tugs are believed to be compliant with the EPA’s Tier 4 requirement—which targets a ‘substantial’ reduction in pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM)—and the California Air Resource Board’s (CARB) environmental stipulations.

In recent news, Schottel was selected to provide its EcoPellers for a series of four zero-emission, autonomous ferries to be built by Turkiye’s Tersan shipyard for Norway’s ferry operator Fjord1.

The “first of their kind” double-ended vessels, measuring 120 meters in length and 18.6 meters in width, are expected to improve connectivity on the Lavik-Oppedal route starting in September 2026.

As understood, the steel-cutting ceremony, marking the beginning of the ferries’ construction, was held on October 11, 2024.