The fundamental objective of this thesis is to make qualified assessment of the validity of the IMO manoeuvring criteria 'Resolution MSC.l 37(76)', when applied to pod-driven ships. The performance limits given by the criteria provide an adequate benchmark to compare all ships, regardless of propulsion type however the application of specific helm angle is less well defined - an azimuthing pod drive can be turned to any helm angle with no specific definition for the angle of maximum force.