Propulsion retrofitting of the tall ship Amerigo Vespucci: Automation design by simulation

The paper is focused on the most important aspects of the electric propulsion retrofitting of the tall ship Amerigo Vespucci, decided by the Italian Navy in 2010 to improve performance, flexibility and reliability of the propulsion system. The automation design is based on a simulation study, aimed at the ship performance prediction in both sailing and motor propulsion conditions. In particular, an original control logic is investigated by numerical simulation, in order to drive the propeller to the “zero-thrust” condition during sailing propulsion: by this way, it could be possible to avoid the negative effect of the trailing propeller on the transmission efficiency and safety, as well as on the vessel speed.