Azipod® technology was introduced in 1990. This technology has provided ship designers with greater freedom to optimize the ship’s general arrangement which lead to further developments. Azipod® propulsion brings reliability on the harsh arctic environments with the ice-going vessels, it creates customer comfort in the warm Caribbean sea with large cruise vessels, and provides luxury of silence for private yachting around the world.
The first cruise vessel installation on the Fantasy-class vessel Elation in 1998 showed remarkably positive results with high efficiency and excellent manoeuvrability. The new technology provided ship designers with greater freedom to optimize the ship’s general arrangement. These benefits encouraged to further develop the product which lead to the current world-class solution.
After processing further knowledge from experience and getting a better understanding of the system’s behavior in operation, a complete product family has been developed covering power range from 1,5 MW up to 22 MW in open-water applications and 2 MW up to 17 MW for ice operation.
We are constantly studying the shipping industry to better understand the needs of the market; our R&D group creates new Azipod® models, as well as makes improvements on the current models in order to meet the needs of our customers today and in the future.