MMG large ship propellers
Bronze propellers of up to 10 metres and well over 100 tonnes, cast on Lake Müritz and shipped mostly to Asian yards for the world's largest container ships.
- Made by
- Mecklenburger Metallguss (MMG)
- From
- Waren (Müritz), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
- Category
- Mobility
- Introduced
- 1948
What it is
These are the single-piece fixed-pitch propellers that drive container ships, oil tankers, LNG carriers and cruise liners. Mecklenburger Metallguss (MMG) casts and machines them in Waren an der Müritz, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Its largest propellers have exceeded 130 tonnes and 9.6 metres across for the biggest container ships, and the company states it can make fixed propellers up to 11.3 metres in diameter.
How it works
A propeller of this size is cast in one piece from nickel-aluminium bronze, an alloy that resists seawater by forming a protective oxide film. After casting and cooling, the blades are machined and finished to tight tolerances, because tiny deviations cost fuel over a ship's lifetime and can cause vibration or cavitation. MMG uses casting simulation software to predict how the metal solidifies. The Nordkurier reported that each large propeller takes about half a year from order to delivery.
Why it stands out
Few people realise how concentrated this market is. In a 2023 interview, MMG's managing director said the company is the only European maker of propellers this size, naming as competitors one producer in Japan, two in South Korea and seven in China, and described MMG as world market leader for propellers above 80 tonnes. In an earlier MarineLink report, then manager Manfred Urban put MMG's share at as much as 60 per cent of demand for propellers over 80 tonnes. Around 95 per cent of output is exported, almost entirely to Asian shipyards.
Where you meet it
Under the waterline, so almost nobody sees one in service. They do appear briefly in Hamburg, where MMG ships around 100 propellers a year. In September 2018 the floating crane HHLA IV loaded a 110-tonne, 10.5-metre MMG propeller onto a ship bound for Korea, where it was fitted to one of MSC's 23,000 TEU container ships. MMG also makes energy-saving retrofit propellers for existing fleets.
Sources
Stories
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Last reviewed 4 November 2026. Main source: www.unternehmeredition.de/immer-eine-handbreit-wasser-unterm. Suggest a correction.