“Why a naval architect likes an electric ship” for SPEEDAM 2008 Ischia, Italy June 11th – 13th, 2008

This paper examines why an electric ship is so desirable to a naval architect. A naval architect appreciates arrangeable volume, arrangeable equipment, large cargo capacity, large endurance, low thermal management, lots of bulkheads, few hull penetrations, equipment that is flexible and has multi-uses. Naval architects also need equipment that is reliable, available, and maintainable to reduce impacts to required ship accesses and personnel required to do maintenance. The fundamental characteristic of electric propulsion is an enabling topology that matches well to the needs of the naval architect.