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MAN Diesel & Turbo has confirmed that it has signed a cooperation agreement with ship equipment supplier MM-Offshore to develop and optimise efficient solutions for future ship designs.

In a statement, MAN Diesel & Turbo explained that the reason for the joint effort stems from the marine industry's continuous efforts to improve ship performance, which has resulted in highly efficient propulsion and manoeuvring systems that have now been optimised "essentially to perfection" on an individual level.

In order to achieve further improvements in overall efficiency, Poul Knudsgaard, Vice President and Head of the Aft Ship & Propeller department at MAN Diesel and Turbo, said that this could only be realized via "a combined optimisation of propeller and rudder systems, using a holistic approach that takes the interaction between these two vital components - as well as the ship's hull - into consideration".

Knudsgaard added: "A number of recent projects have already documented how beneficial such a combined optimisation could be for ship designers, operators and owners in achieving low fuel and operating costs, as well as attaining a low EEDI. I welcome this agreement with MM-Offshore and look forward to developing our technology together and making further gains in terms of propulsion efficiency."

Jan Hamann, President of MM-Offshore, said: "A further refinement of this concept - aided by modern and advanced simulation and calculation tools - requires a coordinated effort right from the initial design phase of the vessel before the ship design is frozen. The focus of this cooperation agreement will be on developing common propulsion and manoeuvring solutions for different ship types using each company's unique experience and know-how."