A complete success: With torque drive from Kiel to Glückstadt

After almost six months of conversion and testing, the time has come. On Wednesday, June 2 at 3:10 p.m., GMS ENOK will cast off for the first test drive with the prototype of the High TORQUE Power Drive (HTP)™. The ENOK has been owned by TORQUE Marine since spring 2009 and has since been used as a cargo ship throughout Europe.

The motorized cargo ship, built in 1955, was previously used as a push boat for the Neckar/Main/Danube area, among other things. A few key data on the ENOK: length 85 m, width 9.5 m, draught 2.5 m, tonnage 1505 t.

So today Kiel. Blue skies and beautiful sunshine as we cast off – and it’s not just the weather that’s good. The two-shaft TORQUE drive runs excellently right from the start. Extensive tests and stabling work are pending. We are testing our new propulsion system on the Kiel Fjord – everything is going according to plan.

Here are a few details from the engine room:

And the generators also behave according to plan:

The best conditions for our trip on June 12 through the Kiel Canal from Kiel via Brunsbüttel to Glückstadt on the Elbe. And it should stay that way: The driving and maneuvering characteristics of the ENOK are outstanding. Our 85-meter ship covers kilometer after kilometer without a hitch and according to plan. The pilot allows us 18 km/h – that’s fun!

We challenge the High TORQUE Power Drive (HTP)™: With generator 2, 3 and 4 connected to the mains (DC link) and at 260 rpm per shaft, the ENOK travels at 20 km/h with the water running up.

We test the alarms, perform crash maneuvers and check the stopping times from full ahead (260 rpm) to propeller zero. The stopping times, the reversing times and the possibility of running the propellers at full torque with speeds of approx. 20 rpm as the lowest speed enable completely new driving characteristics.

When the ENOK arrives in the port of Glückstadt at around 5 p.m. on June 12, it is clear that the 150-kilometer journey was a complete success. The TORQUE Marine team is more than satisfied. TORQUE Marine founder Claus D. Christophel: “I am delighted and proud that we have managed to realize such a project – at our own expense and in a very short implementation phase of less than 18 months.”

The ENOK, the world’s first ship with TORQUE propulsion, has successfully demonstrated its function.