Rolls-Royce has been awarded a contract to supply tunnel thrusters and retractable thrusters for three Turkish Navy ships being built by Istanbul Shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey.
Under the contract, Rolls-Royce will provide tunnel thrusters and retractable thrusters for all three ships, as well as Azipull main propulsion thrusters for one of the ships, the submarine rescue mother ship (MOSHIP).
Azipull thrusters have been designed to propel the ship in any direction and can rotate through 360 degrees while providing high manoeuvrability, without the requirement for a rudder.
The ship can hold position more effectively using Azipull thrusters, which is of particular importance during search and rescue missions.
The contract value and delivery schedules for the propulsion systems remain undisclosed.
Designed to detect submarines in distress, MOSHIP also supports subsea and surface search and rescue missions in different sea conditions.
Capable of providing life support, including ventilation and pod posting, the vessel enables the evacuation of a distressed submarine’s crew from depths of up to 600m and can transfer them under pressure of up to 5 bar.
The submarine rescue vessel operational capabilities include sea bottom imaging and high acoustic capabilities, as well as towed side scan sonar (TSSS) operations.
The MOSHIP features twin interconnected L-type SRV connectible pressure chambers for 32 rescues and also treats diving diseases with post modern decompression/ recompression pressure chambers and extensive hospital facilities.
The frigate can also act as a medevac station with its heli-deck, capable of operating around the clock, up to sea state 4.
The vessel also supports atmospheric diving suit (ADS) operations, submarine rescue chamber (SRC) operations, personnel transfer capsule (PTC) operations, as well as remote operated vehicle (ROV) operations.
The Turkish Navy has previously received controllable pitch propellers and sonar handling systems from Rolls-Royce.
