Since 2014 there has been an international association, the International Windships Association (IWSA), which represents companies in this field clearly demonstrating that mixed propulsion ships are no longer a utopia.
Wind technologies are now generally recognized as credible energy-saving alternatives and could be applied to merchant shipping for certain types of ships and shipping routes. Although the technologies are now developed, there are still many doubts in the market, even if with the success of the completed projects they foreshadow a steady increase in the diffusion of the technology that become important to reduce CO2 emissions, particularly for transport ships, as required by the IMO (International Maritime Organization). It can be adopted to minimize the power used for propulsion onboard. Already, WASP can save on operating costs. Such savings must become even more significant in view of an increase in costs associated with alternative fuels and batteries, both at an operational and investment level. However, this type of propulsion is not good for all ships; it depends on the type, speed, wind, route and so on.
There are basically three types of sailing ships: Skysails, Dynaship and Flettner Rotors
The first type was invented by a Hamburg company, Skysails. It involves equipping merchant ships with huge kites attached to a bow mast. With the help of a computer,
the kite, which hovers at a maximum height of 200 meters where the winds are very stable, provides an auxiliary thrust to that of the engine. The kite for sail traction is tied to a long cable capable of withstanding strong tensions. Even if it is not able to move the ship alone, the kite in highly resistant to marine wear fabric on this first trip and allows for a significantly reduction in the daily fuel consumption.
The first merchant ship in the world with sailing auxiliary drive in the form of a high-tech kite 10 t tonnage Mv Beluga Skysails of the Belgian Shipping shipowner, departed in 2008 from Bremerhaven, the port of Bremen, in northern Germany with a destination of Venezuela. Mv Beluga Skysails' kite measured 160 square meters of surface with the mast at the bow 15 meters high. On this first trip the fuel economy was estimated at between 10%-15%.
A more recent technology is Seawing, an autonomous system developed by Airseas, a French company that comes from the aeronautical sector that aims to find nautical applications thanks to the experience acquired in the aerospace sector. Once more it is a large sail that is straightened and rewound at the push of a button and can offer an average fuel saving of 20%. The components are the wing, a mast and a winch to retrieve the 500m long cable.
After opening, the wing rises to about 150 meters at an angle of 30 degrees in respect to the ship. A
flight control pod positioned directly under the wing dynamically adjusts the trajectory, through a series of positions and continuing to drag it out of the "comfort zone" the movements of the wing itself as it tries to return to its "comfort zone" generate most of the traction of the device. The system has already passed tests on land and at sea and shortly, a wing will be installed on the RORO (roll-on / roll-off) Airbus transport vessel used to transport airplane parts. Studies are underway for a 1,000sqm sail.
For 30 years, the well-known French design studio VPLP has been designing catamarans that have won big offshore regattas and sailing yachts. Marc Van Peteghem, one of the founders of the studio, has always been very sensitive to environmental issues and has recently focused on the possibility of returning the commercial navy to the use of sails, given that ship transport involves the release of 2-3% of CO2; so he designed Canopée, a 121-meter RORO transport intended to bring components of the Ariane 6 rocket to Guinea. The RORO will be hybrid-powered because it will be armed with 4 fully automated "intelligent" wing sails, Oceanwings 30 meters high for a surface area total of 1,452 square meters. It is estimated to reduce fuel and CO2 emissions by 30%. The sails designed by the VPLP studio are built by Ayro, a company created especially for their development.
Image 2: SkySail Yacht
Image 1: Example of research / development project: Dykstra's WASP (Ecoliner) design Naval Architects (photo by Dykstra Naval architects)
66 | The Report • June 2021 • Issue 96
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