MAN Diesel & Turbo and MM-Offshore agree to cooperate

Pictured at the signing ceremony at Nor-Shipping (from left): Jan Hamann – President MM-Offshore; Helge Schmale – General Manager MM-Offshore; Jens Ring Nielsen – Senior Manager Propeller and Aft Ship, MAN Diesel & Turbo; and Poul Knudsgaard – Vice President and Head of Propeller and Aftship, MAN Diesel & Turbo

JUNE 5, 2017 — In ceremony at last week’s Nor-Shipping trade fair in Norway, MAN Diesel & Turbo signed a cooperation agreement with MM-Offshore GmbH.

Based in Oldenburg, northern Germany, MM-Offshore GmbH is a major designers and producers of ship’s equipment with more than half a century of experience in delivering tailor-made products to ships, including rudders and hydraulic equipment. In the last few years, MM-Offshore has also become one of the world’s leading manufactures of rudder systems, in particular highly efficient rudders.

The impetus for the agreement stems from the marine industry’s constant efforts to enhance ship performance. These have resulted in highly efficient propulsion and maneuvering systems with both now being optimized – individually – essentially to perfection.

“Any further potential for improving overall efficiency can only be realized through a combined optimisation of propeller and rudder systems, using a holistic approach that takes the interaction between these two vital components – as well as the ship’s hull – into consideration,” said Poul Knudsgaard – Vice President and Head of the Aft Ship & Propeller department – MAN Diesel and Turbo. “A number of recent projects have already documented how beneficial such a combined optimisation could be for ship designers, operators and owners in achieving low fuel and operating costs, as well as attaining a low EEDI. I welcome this agreement with MM-Offshore and look forward to developing our technology together and making further gains in terms of propulsion efficiency.”

Jan Hamann, President of MM-Offshore, said: “A further refinement of this concept – aided by modern and advanced simulation and calculation tools – requires a coordinated effort right from the initial design phase of the vessel before the ship design is frozen. The focus of this cooperation agreement will be on developing common propulsion and manoeuvring solutions for different ship types using each company’s unique experience and know-how, and I am already looking very much forward to the results.”

The agreement aligns the two companies’ strategies so they can jointly develop and offer solutions to the marine market related to:

• the optimization of the complete propulsion system, including the interaction of propeller and rudder in order to create a partnership between both systems
• the provision of optimized propulsion solutions based on MAN Diesel & Turbo’s proprietary Kappel propeller design, optimized rudder bulb and hub-fairing cones, and MM-Offshore’s advanced Empress – twisted rudder designs
• the application of energy-saving devices, optimised and combined
• the technical coordination of common shipbuilding projects to ensure overall optimum solutions with clear benefits for ship designers, shipyards, shipowners and operators.