EU project to trial greener, more efficient rudder May 5, 2021, by Naida Hakirevic Scotland-based University of Strathclyde has designed a greener, more efficient rudder system that will be demonstrated as part of a €6 million EU-funded research project. The GATERS project, led by the abovementioned university under the Horizon 2020 Fund, will see the ‘gate rudder’ – a novel propulsion and steering system – retrofitted to a commercial vessel as part of a trial. Image Courtesy: University of Strathclyde Unlike a traditional rudder which sits behind a ship’s propellers to steer the vessel, the U-shaped gate rudder – essentially two separate rudders – sits astride the propeller which, as a result, acts like a nozzle around the propeller and generates additional thrust.