This paper proposes a design technique for electric ship traction machines to achieve high torque density and low torque ripple by adopting dual <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">m</i> -phase windings with an appropriate phase shift. Firstly, the general relationship between the slot number and the phase number for dual <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">m</i> -phase windings is investigated. Secondly, the uniform analytical expressions of torque with different phase shifts are derived. Also, the optimal phase shift angle is summarized from the perspective of improving torque performance. Then, the 48-slot and 22-pole permanent-magnet machines for electric ship with different windings configurations are designed. The finite-element method is used to calculate their electromagnetic performances, such as back electromotive force, torque capability, stator magnetic motive force and radial force. Finally, some experiments on the prototype machine for electric ship are carried out for validation.