Tees White Gill Thrusters

Tees White Gill Thrusters designs, manufactures and supports 360-degree azimuthing pump-jet thrusters from North Skelton near Saltburn-by-the-Sea, UK. It is a division of Tees Components, which moved from subcontractor to owner in 2005.

The technology dates to 1922, when Major James Herbert Gill developed axial-flow pumps for jet propulsion. J. Samuel White took over manufacturing rights in 1964, and under Elliott Company the vertical-shaft T3 (1977) and cross-shaft CS (1980) designs were patented. The range today comprises T3S vertical-shaft units in six sizes (24T3S to 70T3S) of up to 2,120 kW and 2.2-20 t static thrust, self-contained HJP horizontal-shaft units with up to 7 t thrust, CS cross-shaft thrusters of about 1-7 t for retrofits and restricted spaces, and steering and control systems.

Because the units are flush-mounted and create little hull turbulence, they are used on acoustically sensitive research ships. Installations include four 60T3S units on the polar research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough, NOAA and US Navy AGOR research vessels, cable ships and US ferries.