A system which provides thrust to propel the ship. It consists of propulsion machinery and the auxiliary systems needed to operate them, all the equipment to transmit propulsion power into thrust and all the requisite monitoring and control systems, alarms and safety systems.
- Azimuth propulsion system – A combined system for steering the ship and providing propulsion power. Podded drives, rudderpropellers, rotatable waterjets and Voith-Schneider cycloid propulsors are regarded as azimuth propulsion systems.