The Inline Thruster is rated at 1,500kW and has an inner propeller diameter of 2,300mm. Voith is systematically expanding its Thruster series. The Voith Inline Thruster/Voith Inline Propulsor (VIT/VIP) series starts with type 240-10, which signifies an inner propeller diameter of 240mm and an output of 10kW. Previously, the VIT/VIP 850-300 was the most powerful unit in this class.
The Voith Inline Thruster (VIT)/Voith Inline Propulsor (VIP) was originally developed as a propulsion system for passenger boats, with the aim being to increase comfort for passengers in terms of noise and vibrations. This resulted in an axle-free, electrically driven propeller. The VIT/VIP is an inner ring propeller, in which an electric motor is integrated into the outer ring of the nozzle, thus reducing weight and space. There is no need for a shaft or a gearbox. The system thus combines motor and propeller into a powerful unit.
The principle of a propeller drive with a permanently excited electric motor housed in the hollow shaft and requiring no maintenance due to seawater lubricated bearings has also proven itself in larger vessels. Currently under construction at the Chinese Cosco Shipyard, the jack-up vessel of the Danish operator A2Sea is a good example of this and has led to Voith planning to build significantly more powerful Voith Inline Thrusters in the future.
In the jack-up vessel, whose design originates from Gusto MSC, the VIT supports the three Voith Schneider Propellers (VSP) of the size 36R6ECR/285-2 as an additional drive system. Voith will deliver the VIT by August of 2011, with the vessel launch scheduled for early 2012.
