Diesel electric propulsion on ∑IGMA class corvettes

Nowadays, diesel electric-propulsion plays an increasingly important role in the naval shipbuilding industry. It is considered a design with great future potential due to its lower inboard and underwater noise, presumed lower fuel consumption and lower maintenance. Additionally, vulnerability can be decreased and reliability can be increased with a diesel-electric propulsion system. The system is less vulnerable in respect to failure as the redundancy is increased in comparison with a common diesel-mechanical propulsion system. In this context, this paper demonstrates the advantages and disadvantages of such a propulsion system, pointing out today´s and future challenges.