What are the purpose of bow and stern thrusters?

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[firestar12]

I don't really get how they come in to captaining a ship

[IRI5HJ4CK]

Hi There,

the idea of the bow and stern thrusters are that, when docking, they can be a handy tool to get in the right position when mooring, also, when trying to do tricky manouvers they can become very handy, i use the ones on the Fairmount Sherpa a lot to get into position when getting ready to tow.

Oh and welcome to the Forum, enjoy it here, its a nice community

Kind Regards,
Jack.

[Agent|Austin]

To Move sideways, turn your ship around in very tight spaces...

[Capt. Le Velle]

boats that have bow and stern thrusters dont need tugs to help them dock

[Jayshum]

Actually that depends on the size of the vessel, and the current weather conditions level.

Bow and/or Stern thrusters are mini propellers built into the ship, which face port and starboard (270 and 90 degrees). They assist all types of ships in carrying out complex manoeuvres, but are mainly used to help dock the ship. Having them fitted to a ship enables that vessel to turn in it's own length when stopped or at very low speeds.

[firestar12]

Thanks you guys Thanks for the welcome Jack, can you make a video on youtube about the Furie? i have a youtube account, its firestar124 but i made a typo when registering so im firestar12 instead of firestar124

[Denis]

Hi firestar, and welcome to you.

Everything has been said about the bow and stern trhuster : beeing able to turn 180° with no forward motion and to move sideways for docking !

you'll have more detailded information and a few pictures here :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_thruster

[Agent|Austin]

Thanks you guys Thanks for the welcome Jack, can you make a video on youtube about the Furie? i have a youtube account, its firestar124 but i made a typo when registering so im firestar12 instead of firestar124

You may be able to PM the Administrator 'wout' to get your name fixed to firestar124.

[firestar12]

How would i pm the "Wout"

[whitestar]

the queen mary 2 uses them when she docks at southampton - the crew could turn here on a pinhead if they needed to !

[nmkulukundis]

In addition to the points already made on bow and stern thrusters I would add that they are very much used in aft bridge operations around platforms and rigs in oil field support vessels.

For example a PSV, loaded with deck cargo will approach a platform stern on, using the aft bridge controls.  The vessel handler in this mode will have little directional control from the rudder as speed will be low and the vessel is moving aft.  In this ops (and always at low speeds) the thrusters are used to provide directional control and additionally when approaching a platform with currents and wind, the thrusters can be used to compensate for the directional shift from these environmental factors.

Thrusters are of no use at higher speeds as they become ineffective.