Happy Monday and welcome back to another week of ESC News Blog!
Back in July of 2023 we spoke in
our Blog about the U.N. International Maritime Organization (IMO) weeklong discussion
of how the maritime industry may be able to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions and they mentioned a few projects in shipping using wind assisted propulsion
(WAP) technology. Well, we read about another such
project in the gCaptain Daily Newsletter on March 14, 2024, their
article titled, “Wind-Assisted Propulsion Trial Off to Promising Start”. Did you happen to see it? The article speaks in regard to WindWings
which are giant rigid sails from BAR Technologies. WindWings were installed
onto a Kamsarmax size vessel named Pyxis Ocean which is chartered by Cargill. According to Cargill, their chartered
vessel, Pyxis Ocean which is owned by MC Shipping, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi
Corp was retrofitted with 2 rigid sails and set sail on August 2023 and in the
six months they weren’t disappointed in the trial period results. They were able to reduce daily fuel use by roughly
3 tonnes a day in well-to-wake emissions and in premium sailing conditions saved
over 11 tonnes a day which have been confirmed by a third party, DNV. Pyxis Ocean sailed on three oceans (Indian,
Atlantic, and Pacific) and with the engines off were able to keep time and
reduce emissions. The WindWings, installed
are 37.5 meters in height and are like large airplane wings and they are fully
automated, so a crew may handle other tasks.
The WindWings, are managed by a touch panel, and a traffic light system
guides the seamen on its current function and once they’re raised the sails
auto-adjust to the direction of the wind by using onboard sensors. The results of the WindWings are promising in
light of the goals the IMO has put forth for the near-future and future of the
shipping industry. The next step for WAP is how will ports handle
the implementation and planning for such WAP powered vessels coming to berth. Cargill has been in touch with 250
ports to discuss their needs for the WAP powered vessels and they are looking
for ways to accommodate these vessels. If
you would like to read more of gCaptain’s article, please click the
link: Wind-Assisted Propulsion Trial Off to Promising Start (gcaptain.com).
If you would like to read more
about the IMO’s emission goals for the shipping industry, please click the
link: 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships.
If you would
like help in looking into how to update your terminal and docks, contact us via
email in the blog and check out our ESC's website for contact
information!
We hope you have a wonderful evening!
**Disclaimer: You may be charged a fee to read the gCaptain’s
article. **