UK marine engineering consultancy BAR Technologies and Finnish naval architects Deltamarin are partnering in the development of a new Aframax/LRII design for wind assisted propulsion.
The companies previously collaborated on WindWings which, with saving of approximately 1.5t of fuel per wing per day, will soon debut on the Pyxis Ocean.
Above deck, there have been great strides in design that harnesses the potential of wind propulsion; the next frontier, recognised in this partnership, is to complement this with hull forms modified specifically to maximise wind power. With this new hull design, BAR Technologies and Deltamarin’s early predictions suggest that as much as 10t of fuel per day can be saved with an Aframax/LRII hull and four WindWings using a North America/ Rotterdam roundtrip as an example.
The use of sails to reduce fuel consumption and thereby help decarbonise shipping is proving a popular method with innovators and vessel owners. However, progress towards maximum efficiency depends upon full consideration of variable factors, such as the type of vessel and the route it is taking. To get closer to the best solution in general, there must be more research on how performance can be improved under the water’s surface.
It is in this area that BAR Technologies and Deltamarin are now pooling their concentration having seen first-hand that a large portion of both existing ships and newbuilds lack optimal hull and propulsion designs for significant wind assistance. Though the project is in its initial phase, BAR Technologies’ history of technical excellence, and Deltamarin’s quality in ship design, give confidence to the assertion that new hull forms, like the Aframax/LRII, that extract significantly more thrust will increase average fuel savings and be the first of many ship designs tailored for wind propulsion.
John Cooper, CEO BAR Technologies said: “Wind is the free fuel, and it is the gauntlet laid down in front of innovators like ourselves to work out how we can displace fossil fuels with wind power. It has been a privilege to partner with the best shipyards to retrofit WindWings, and we are especially excited to partner with the best ocean-going naval architects for big ship design in Deltamarin and that the Aframax/LRII is the first of many announcements.”
Esa Jokioinen, Director, Sales and Marketing Deltamarin, added: “The opportunities moving forward with wind power are vast. Being familiar with BAR Technologies’ expert innovation in wind propulsion, we are delighted to collaborate on what both companies see as the next vital stage for wind-assisted sea travel: hull optimisation. So far, we have made fine progress in harnessing wind power using sails, but we are finding increased performance all the time and, with this hull design, we are witnessing a 15% improvement against our current fleet.”
