gCaptain reports on development of a new propulsion system that is purported to offer better fuel economy and towing capability without penalties at high speeds, all characteristics important in Coast Guard cutters.

“The Voith Linear Jet drive, however, is a hybrid of the ducted propeller and the water jet drive, having a highly skewed propeller, similar to a jet drive’s impeller, within a shroud containing stators, also similar to a water jet.  According to Voith, “It consists of a specially shaped jet, a rotor and a stator. The prototype has a rotor diameter of two meters, a jet length of three meters and an input power of 6.0 MW.”  This gives their drive the thrust characteristics of a ducted propeller, with the speed characteristics of a water jet drive.”

“Typical VLJ applications will be any ship with a mixed operating profile between low speed cruising and sprint speeds like Navy and Coastguard vessels…”

The comparison charts are particularly interesting. Promising if it works as advertised.