Marine Pumps for Shipbuilding: Industry Overview
A marine pump manufacturer supplies the pumps that keep a ship’s machinery, safety and cargo systems running: sea-water and fresh-water cooling, ballast and bilge, fire and general service, fuel oil, lubricating oil, hydraulic power, cargo discharge and stripping, sewage and sludge, and boiler feed. Each system has its own duty profile, so a typical vessel carries several pump types rather than one.
Tianjin Pumps & Machinery Group (CTP), founded in 1956, made China’s first screw pump and first marine centrifugal pump. Today the marine centrifugal family covers flows up to 5,000 m³/h and heads up to 270 m for sea water and fresh water up to 80 °C, while the screw and gear families handle fuel, lube, hydraulic and cargo oils. Shipyards use CTP for new-build pump packages; ship managers and superintendents use us to replace existing pumps and match installed footprints.
Ship Systems and Recommended Pump Series
The table maps each shipboard system to the CTP series that serve it. Series are listed by role, not as equal alternatives; the operating point is always confirmed against your duty data.
| Ship system | Recommended CTP series | How the series are applied |
|---|
| Cooling / main sea water & fresh water | EHC; EHS; TMC; TMS; ESC; EMC; ESD; EMD | EHC, ESC and EMC for cooling duty; ESD and EMD for large-flow main sea water; TMC and TMS for daily service and cooling standby |
| Ballast / bilge | ESD; EMD; EMC; ESC; EHS; ESN; VS / VS-S | ESD, EMD and EMC for ballast; EHS self-priming for bilge; ESN for combined bilge & ballast; sludge-containing bilge goes to single screw (G / EH / ER / EU) |
| Fire & general service | VS / VS-S; ESN; selected ESC / EMC / ESD / EMD; EHC / EHS for foam fire | VS / VS-S and ESN are the core fire & G.S. pumps; HDS is not used as a fire main pump |
| Daily service & sanitary | TMC; TMS; EHC; EHS; CWX (conditional) | Fresh / sea water daily service, drinking water, sanitary, hot water circulation |
| Fuel oil | SN; SM; SZ; SPF; 3G; W; SW; V; SV; U; 2G; NHG; NHGH; VG; KCB / 2CY | Three screw (SN, 3G, SZ, SPF) is the core; SM for higher pressure; twin screw where flow, viscosity or suction favour it; gear pumps for auxiliary duty |
| Lubricating oil | SN; SM; SL; SF / S3F; SNHG; 3G; NHG; NHGH; VG; KCB / 2CY; DVY; EFY | Three screw core, gear pumps as alternatives, DVY / EFY for deep-well and wet-end tank installation; SE / SD only where a high-pressure system requires them |
| Hydraulic auxiliary | SF / S3F; SE; SD; SM; 3G | Secondary marine system: deck machinery and hydraulic power units |
| Cargo / stripping | W; SW; V; SV; U; HPW; W.Kse; 2G; DVY / EFY (auxiliary) | Twin screw is the dominant cargo technology; DVY / EFY only for the auxiliary cargo duties listed in the manual |
| Marine sewage / sludge | G; EH; ER; EU; GN / MEH (conditional) | Single screw only for sludge, solids-laden or viscous waste streams |
| Boiler / high-pressure water | HDS | Dedicated duty: boiler feed, high- and low-pressure gland water, high-pressure cleaning |
| Jet pumps / self-priming devices | CP; N-20; EPS-200; PSA-800 | CP is the marine jet pump; N-20, EPS-200 and PSA-800 are priming devices fitted to centrifugal pumps, not pump series |
GN / MEH subject to current supply; CWX application confirmed per project. Source: CTP Pumps company brochure and marine centrifugal pump selection manual.
System Blocks by Pump Family
Each pump family covers a distinct group of ship systems. What each one brings to the vessel:
Engine-room water systems
Marine centrifugal pumps for cooling, ballast, bilge, fire & G.S. and daily service. Rotors are designed for 60 Hz and run well away from critical speed; bearing design life is at least 10,000 h with ship rolling and pitching loads included, and noise stays below 85 dB. See the centrifugal pump range.
Fuel, lube & hydraulic oil
Three screw pumps are self-priming with low pulsation and noise, for lube oil, hydraulic fluid and light to heavy fuel oil. The family reaches 575 m³/h, 21.0 MPa and 7,000 cSt. Gear pumps (5–1,000 cSt) cover smaller transfer and lubrication duties. See three screw pumps and gear pumps.
Cargo & stripping
Twin screw pumps handle cargo discharge, loading and stripping from low-viscosity products to heavy, gas-containing oils. They self-prime, run with low pulsation and tolerate impurities. The family extends to 2,700 m³/h, 10.0 MPa and NPSH as low as 1.5 m. See twin screw pumps.
Sewage & sludge
Single screw pumps move sludge, oily residues, fibrous and solids-laden liquids and even non-flowing pastes. Rotor surfaces can be hardened for abrasive duty and the stator elastomer is chosen for the liquid. See the eccentric helical rotor range.
Boiler & high-pressure water
The HDS horizontal split-case two-stage pump covers boiler feed, gland water and high-pressure cleaning: 30–300 m³/h, heads up to 270 m. The rotor can be removed without disturbing piping or alignment.
Jet pumps & priming devices
The CP marine jet pump has no moving parts, no mechanical drive and no dynamic seal. For priming centrifugal pumps, CTP offers the N-20 vacuum pump unit or EPS-200 / PSA-800 air ejectors (EPS-200 for suction up to DN80, PSA-800 above).
Vessel Types Served
CTP’s brochure reference list covers pump supply for a wide range of ship and offshore types:
- Offshore platforms and offshore supply vessels
- Bulk carriers and container vessels
- Product oil and chemical tankers
- Asphalt tankers
- Ro-ro passenger ships
- Dredgers and working ships
- Icebreakers
Because CTP builds both the engine-room water pumps and the oil and cargo pumps in-house, a shipyard or operator can keep interfaces, documentation and spares for these systems with one supplier.
Why Shipyards and Operators Work with CTP
- Licensed technology — three screw pumps from Allweiler (Germany, 1984); single screw and twin screw pumps from Bornemann (Germany, 1993); marine centrifugal and gear pumps from Taiko (Japan, 1994). About 30 series and 1,300 specifications were licensed.
- Manufacturing — 69,000 m² site, about 500 employees, ISO 9001 certified since 1994. Screw rotors are machined from 10 to 630 mm diameter and 90 to 6,000 mm length.
- Marine design — rotor and strength designed for 60 Hz, bearing life of at least 10,000 h under ship motion, three self-priming options (air-driven ejector, motor-driven, mechanical vacuum).
- Replacement support — we match existing footprints, flanges and duty points when you replace an installed pump. Read our seven compatibility checks for marine centrifugal pump replacement.
Related Marine Pump Applications
Each ship system has its own application page with series comparisons and selection guidance:
- Marine ballast pumps — ESD, EMD and EMC vertical centrifugal pumps for ballast and main sea water.
- Marine bilge pump — EHS self-priming pumps for engine-room bilge drainage.
- Cargo oil transfer pump — twin screw pumps for cargo discharge and stripping.
- Marine fuel oil transfer pump selection guide — how to size three screw and gear pumps for fuel service.
- Further application pages in preparation: marine seawater cooling pumps, marine fire pumps, daily service and sanitary pumps, marine fuel oil transfer pumps, lubricating oil pumps, hydraulic oil pumps, sludge and wastewater pumps, high-pressure and boiler service pumps, and marine jet pumps.
For a new-build package, send the machinery list or pump schedule from the specification; for a retrofit, send the nameplate data and installation drawing of the existing pump. Our engineers return a series recommendation per system. If the duty data is incomplete, our pump selection assistance team will work through it with you, and technical documentation is on our downloads page.
Classification and Standards for Ship Pumps
Shipboard pumps are surveyed with the vessel. Reference points that commonly apply:
- Statutory safety — bilge, ballast and fire pumping arrangements follow the IMO SOLAS Convention; see also IMO guidance on fire protection.
- Pollution prevention — oily bilge water, sludge and sewage handling fall under IMO MARPOL.
- Classification — machinery rules are published by societies coordinated through IACS. The CTP brochure lists BV, CCS, DNV, GL, LR and ZY certification for the marine centrifugal range; see DNV, Lloyd’s Register, CCS and Bureau Veritas. Survey by another requested society, such as ABS, KR, NK, RINA or RS, can be arranged.
FAQ: Marine & Shipbuilding Pumps
What pumps does a ship need?
A typical merchant ship carries centrifugal pumps for cooling, ballast, bilge, fire & G.S. and daily service; screw and gear pumps for fuel, lube and hydraulic oil; and, on tankers, twin screw cargo and stripping pumps. Single screw pumps handle sludge, and an HDS pump serves boiler feed where the ship has a boiler.
Can CTP supply the pump package for a new-build vessel?
For most systems, yes. CTP builds marine centrifugal, three screw, twin screw, single screw and gear pumps, plus the CP jet pump and priming devices. Send the pump schedule and we will confirm the series for each system.
Can you replace an existing pump from another maker?
Yes. Send the nameplate, installation drawing and duty data; we check flow, head, speed, flange position, footprint and seal arrangement against a matching CTP model.
Which classification societies do you work with?
The CTP brochure lists BV, CCS, DNV, GL, LR and ZY certification for the marine centrifugal range. For other societies, survey by the requested society can be arranged. State the class and flag at enquiry.
Do I need to choose the pump model myself?
No. Send the vessel type, system, medium, flow, head or pressure, suction conditions, power supply (50/60 Hz) and class. Our engineers recommend the model, materials and certification route.
Planning a Ship Pump Package or Replacement?
Send the pump schedule or the existing pump data — we will recommend the series, materials and certification route for each system.
Published by CTP Pumps · Source: CTP Pumps company brochure and marine centrifugal pump selection manual · Last reviewed: September 29, 2026
