WINGING IT In order to alleviate the penalties associated with high energy intensity, ship owners have been looking at a range of ways to reduce their vessels’ energy demand. A number of Energy Saving Devices (ESD) have been developed, tested and implemented as a result: shaft generators, special paints, hull lubrication, etc.
Yet, the European Commission (EC) introduced two specific ways of boosting a ship’s emission performance score under FEUM by means of bonuses: for Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBO) and wind-assisted propulsion (WSP).
The use of RFNBO (Cf. text box) has been incentivised in order to hasten the uptake of greener fuels, but their global supply remains sparse.
Waste-based biofuels are the easy de facto stop gap for owners and operators trading in Europe. A fuel mix with a 20% blend of biofuel is mostly compliant until 2040 and most modern ship engines can accommodate the new mix (upon confirmation from manufacturer, and sometimes with a few tweaks).
There are however several question marks that come along with using biofuels:
• Availability: how much used cooking oil, biomethane and other agricultural waste can the planet produce?
• Price volatility: with higher demand, price is expected to grow significantly
• Traceability: how much biofuel is actually present in the B10 or B20 mix is often questioned, as is its origin
• Solidification: biofuels tend to gel and clog the engine in cold waters
The other mean to reduce exposure to FEUM penalty is to take on wind-assistance, and the more efficient, the better. FEUM is the only regulation to include a reward mechanism to promote the use of Wind Propulsion Systems (WPS). The Wind Reward Factor (WRF) is a GHG reduction calculator which offers a 5% reduction on the GHG intensity calculation of energy used onboard for those vessels, where wind assisted propulsion accounts for 15% or more of the propulsive energy used onboard.
Wind assisted technology represents a much higher capital cost than switching to biofuel (up to USD 3.0 Mn per sail in some cases) but the return on investment is much more predictable and stable (we regularly hear of a five years payback period). There are a multitude of wind technologies for both geared and gearless ships.
DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES
There are a number of WSP technologies available.
Soft sail rig
Mast supporting sails - Traditional rig - Modern rig - Free standing rig -Balestron rig - Modern square rig
Rotor sail
Vertical rotating cylinder using Magnus effect
Suction wing Vertical wing
Wing sail
Vertical wing - Soft wing sail - Rigid wing sail - Semi rigid wing sail
Kite sail
Soft wing connected to the ship by ropes
- Passive kite - Dynamic kite
Source: Bureau Veritas 32 | ADMISI - The Ghost In The Machine | Q1 Edition 2025
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