Current state of podded propulsion

[BlueRiband]

I'm always amazed at the agility of Queen Mary 2. Yet podded propulsion seems to be not entirely embraced. The Seabourn Odyssey ships were built with traditional shaft drives and rudders which would seem to be a step back. Did bearing failures on the early pod units lead ship owners to stay with conventional shaft drives? As an example Celebrity Millennium had to be taken out of service due to a pod failure. Yet a complete "in stock and ready to ship" pod was available for replacement. (Presumably it was taken from a vessel under construction.)

What, today, is the attitude of ship owners toward podded propulsion? Did they appreciate the fuel saving and maneuverability but have reluctance to risk the cost and public relations nightmare of cancelled voyages due to failure?

[Stephen M. Payne]

Dear BlueRiband,

Carnival Cruise Lines was the first cruise company to embrace podded propulsion with Elation and Paradise. We were able to show convincingly that compared to their shaft driven sister ships, these two ships exhibited considerable fuel economies on the same routings. Depending if you are pro or anti pods, you accept or not that savings of around 7% are possible.

Its true that pods have received some bad press in the past but their popularity is increasing. All the most recent spate of Carnival Corporation newbuildings stipulate podded propulsion. Also, I have yet to meet a ship's master who is familiar with pods that doesn't prefer them to shafts, rudders and stern thrusters. Technology and the understanding of the forces involved are becoming greater all the time which should mean fewer problems in the future.

I am sure that podded propulsion will gain more and more popularity as fuel savings become more and more important.

Thank you for your question.

Stephen