The Maritime Education Podcast
Captain Barry Sadler discusses maritime topics including recent changes to maritime practices, shipping incidents, new legislation, real life lessons from his ongoing pilotage career, hot MCA examination topics and maritime issues in general. With 40 years experience in the professional maritime field, Barry's take on various nautical and shipping matters is in depth and accurate with insightful views on all affairs maritime. If you work, watch or enjoy the sea his podcast will inform and entertain you.
The Maritime Education Podcast
Tunnel Talk - The Mighty(ish) Bow Thruster
A bow thruster is a transversal propulsion device installed in the forward (bow) section of a ship, allowing it to move laterally (sideways) without forward motion. It is especially valuable for low-speed manoeuvres such as berthing, unberthing, or holding position in dynamic positioning (DP) systems. While it greatly aids ship handling, it comes with several limitations.
The bow thruster was first developed in the mid-20th century to improve low-speed manoeuvrability in increasingly larger ships. Early versions appeared in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly on Scandinavian ferries, using simple mechanically driven side propellers. By the 1970s, tunnel-type bow thrusters became standard on tankers, ferries, and cruise ships, often powered by diesel or electric motors.
Barry discusses the humble bow thruster - how it is measured, some of the limitations and gives real world accounts of when the thruster may let you down.
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