China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Built Asphalt Carrier Sports Schottel EcoPellers
A new bitumen tanker for Rubis Group of France is currently under construction at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard. The 15,000-dwt ship will be driven by twoSchottel EcoPellers and one TransverseThruster. Designed by Swedish FKAB Marine, the vessel will be deployed in West Africa for asphalt transportation services.
The main propulsion of the carrier will include two electrically driven Schottel EcoPellers type SRE 560 (2,050 kW each), featuring fixed pitch 3.1m-diameter propellers. With this configuration, the 145.8 x 26.2-m ship will achieve a maximum speed of 13.55 knots at design draft. The ship is also outfitted with a Schottel TransverseThruster type STT 2 (600 kW) to enhance maneuverability.
According to model tests carried out at SSPA Sweden, when compared to a conventional rudder propeller with nozzle, it demonstrated a 17% increase in propulsion efficiency at an operational ship speed of 12.5 knots throughout testing. In addition, to achieve the maximum ship speed of 13.55 knots at design draft, the SRE requires 11% less propulsion power than a conventional rudder propeller with nozzle.