In Finocean we are studying, researching and developing ship projects where a variety of Mechanical Sails are applied in both Newbuilding and Existing ships with the goal to achieve energy efficiency.
Our Naval Architects and Marine Engineers have been actively involved since 2013 in wind propulsion applications on ships, developing design incorporation, engineering integration and researching the topics of holistic ship performance.
About Wind-Assisted Ship Propulsion(WASP) – Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is Wind-Assisted ship propulsion (WASP)?
Wind-Assisted ship propulsion (WASP) is the beneficial result of combining mechanical technological innovations and computerized systems (software and automation), in order to exploit the available wind energy surrounding the ship during voyage and develop wind-induced thrust forces that propel the ship forward.
In existing commercial ships which have sailing speeds ranging from 10 – 25 knots and limited free deck space available for accommodating extra mechanical systems, WASP systems can provide up to a maximum of 20-25% of the total propulsion power as a direct power replacement for a constant ship speed.
The wind energy harvested for propulsion is a relatively small fraction of the total propulsion power, and this fact justifies the term ‘wind-assisted ship propulsion’, meaning that the wind assists – rather than fully replaces – main engine propulsive power.
In WASP ships, the main propulsion power comes from conventional power generation technologies (i.e. internal combustion engines fuelled by HFO, MDO or LNG, LPG), and wind assists for a certain percentage power reduction depending on the wind propulsion system arrangement and capacity.
What is Wind propulsion and how it differs from the Wind-Assisted ship propulsion?
Wind propulsion differs because through combining same mechanical technological innovations and computerized systems (software and automation) in order to exploit the available wind energy surrounding the ship during voyage, a Total (or a great majority of) propulsion power needed for a certain ship speed can be generated.
The wind propelled ship is thrusted forward by the Winds that can provide for more than 50% of the required propulsion power, and in some cases it can reach a 90% or even 100%.
To accomplish this task, a complete re-design of the ship needs to be made so that the hull form, propeller, rudder, other appendages, ship volumes and compartmentation, main deck design is defined primarily by the total capacity, type and arrangement of a wind propulsion system that needs to be installed in order to provide for the total propulsive power needed at the design ship speed.
It is extremely difficult for existing ships to be converted to wind-powered ships, due to both the extent of the modification and the large reduction of the design speed that would be needed, if such attempted.
Wind propulsion can be thus applicable to novel ship design prototypes, which can be developed in conjunction with the wind propulsion technology, in a holistic way, so that the performance of the whole ship is optimized in various operational conditions, thus it is an application very suitable for newbuilding ship projects.
A Wind-propelled ship can also have motor-assisted configurations, meaning that the wind propulsion system can provide for up to 90% of the total propulsion power and the rest of 10% can come from a smaller internal combustion engine plant or smaller low carbon or zero carbon power generation source (i.e. batteries, fuel cells, etc) thus securing a zero emission ship.
How can the Ocean Winds provide clean energy to the ship?
In every geographical point in the world’s seas, across the height above the atmosphere from sea level, there is a certain developed wind potential, meaning that certain wind blowing direction and intensity is present, which is varying in time.
When the ship travels through such geographical points at a given speed, there is an apparent wind generated as incoming wind to the ship (at a specific direction and speed).
By installing a mechanical surface vertical to the ship’s horizontal plane on the deck, the incoming apparent wind is able to provide aerodynamically developed forces, part of which can be used for a forward thrust generation, thus pushing the ship forward with no expense of fuel or other harmful gases-emitting source of energy.
What are the main wind propulsion technologies applicable on ships?
The main, modern, wind propulsion technologies currently available and suitable for both wind-assisted ship propulsion and wind-propulsion for modern large commercial vessels are Mechanical Sails.
They differentiate from the typical yacht soft sails, because the thrust forces needed to provide suitable propulsion power are much larger than required for yachts.
Mechanical Sails are designed as such to generate as high as possible Aerodynamic Forces per Square meter of installation, so that they can be installed in the much restricted free deck space of the modern commercial ships.
There are four (4) main types of Mechanical Sails:
- Flettner Rotor Sails (vertical cylinders that have an induced spin around their axis)
- Wing Sails (resemble like vertical aerofoils of certain span, arranged in various combinations, equipped with auxiliary aerofoils, such as flaps)
- Suction Wing Sails (similar to wing sails but also using air suction to reduce aerodynamic frictions on their surface)
Airborne Kites (paraglide shaped surfaces which are deployed from the ship and fly above 200m deck level, using higher intensity winds)
Is Wind propulsion a zero-emission energy?
Yes!
The Mechanical Sails are consuming a very small amount of electrical power for making their motions that generate aerodynamic forces which push the ship forward, and they always operate when there is a Net Positive thrust benefit for the ship.
Since the Winds are a source of pure natural energy, there is a zero-emission effect coming from wind propulsion applications.
Is Wind assisted ship propulsion suitable for all ship types and sizes?
Wherever – on a given ship’s deck – there is free space to accommodate at least one mechanical sail unit, then all such ships, regardless of type and size can be suitable for receiving the wind-assisted propulsion benefits.
Even in ships with minimal or no free deck space, i.e such as dredger vessels or cement carriers with extensive deck mounted cargo handling equipment, off-deck wind-assisted ship propulsion installations such as an Airborne Kite, can still provide a solution for wind energy harvesting.
By means of beneficial performance, there are though certain features of a given ship and her operations which will determine the commercial and financial suitability of such an installation, such as:
- Ship Utilization time (time at sea)
- Operational speed
- Fuel consumption & CO2 emissions / day
- Geographical domain of operations (related to wind statistics potential)
What is the expected CO2 and GHG emission reduction potential from wind propulsion?
Any given wind propulsion system, either comprised of one Mechanical Sail or more, can contribute a certain kW power to the ship (measured either as instant – depending on the prevailing wind conditions each time, or as average on basis yearly wind statistics for the intended route’s waypoints).
Under certain wind direction and speed, the Mechanical Sails will generate a forward Thrust to the ship (measured in Kilo-Newton (kN)), which multiplied by the ship’s speed and divided by the propulsive efficiency of the ship will give the wind propulsion power value in Kilo-Watts.
On basis of average global wind statistics taken for the most dense global trading routes of commercial ships over 10.000 GRT, a Mechanical Sail of an aspect ratio (Height/Width) of 3-6, and for a ship speed of 10-14 knots, the average yearly contributed power per Unit can range from 80 – 350 kW.
This provides an estimate of the perspective main engine propulsion power replacement depending on how many Units, and of which size and aerodynamic performance are installed on board.
For example, a 250kW unit, when the specific fuel consumption of the ship’s main engine is 170 gr/kWh, can save 1 ton of fuel /day, hence if this fuel is Diesel Oil, it is translated to 3.2 ton/day of CO2 plus other GHG emissions.
Given the fact that Wind-Assisted ships can benefit up to 25% of power replacement by the Winds, the reduction potential is close to this figure.
How wind-assisted ship propulsion fits within the available options to improve the EEDI, EEXI and CII score of a ship?
As mentioned above, a Mechanical Sail can substitute fossil-fuelled main engine propulsion power with clean wind-induced propulsive power to maximum extend of 25% as observed in the largest installations so far in commercial vessels over 500 GRT.
The Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and the Energy Efficiency Existing ship Index (EEXI) both include a gramCO2/Ton-Mile deduction component coming from a wind propulsion system installation.
Since the average yearly performance of a WASP system can contribute up to 25% of power saving, a proportional 20%-25% gramCO2/ton-mile reduction potential can be achieved thus improving considerably the score of a ship.
In practical applications, a feasible range of 8-25% has been observed to be gained as score reduction for the EEDI/EEXI, in accordance with the recent MEPC 77 / Circ. 896 regulations for the calculation method, a range applicable for commercial cargo ships of 20.000 – 320.000 ton cargo (dry or wet).
The Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) of a ship is also improved since the optimal operational use of Mechanical Sails can further increase the performance gains.
For example, operating Mechanical Sails combined with Weather Routing, can provide an extra 10%-25% of power savings during a voyage, on statistical basis.
Wind-Assisted Ship propulsion is accomplished through utilizing modern, smartly designed, high aerodynamic efficiency Mechanical Sais which are capable to exploit the wind energy surrounding a sailing ship and develop a Zero Emission propulsive power.
Independent WASP Technical & Commercial Advisory for Ship Owners and Operators
The number of wind-assist technology types and system providers is growing, with different functional principles, performance features and a variety of benefits.
At the same time, the large majority of WASP system providers rely on a still small number of seagoing references, running hours or even small scale prototype and/or only CFD tests, in order to promise ship specific and long-term performance results to ship owners and operators.
While their marketing approach maybe somewhat overconfident so that they encourage stakeholders to engage, with the risk of over-looking important technical and commercial implications during project execution.
The WASP shipping segment is relatively young, small in size and certainly not mature yet, however extremely promising for the future, as it provides a free abundant form of energy that will support shipping decarbonization through energy & carbon footprint reduction.
Ship Owners and Operators need an Independent Expert that knows deeply every WASP system, has technical experience with real WASP projects development and installations, has long experience in shipbuilding and ship designing, while provide an equal stance on all possibilities for a given ship type and size.
We provide Independent Technical Advisory for ship specific WASP applications with Holistic performance analysis and verification, so that Ship Owners can cross-check WASP vendors data and have a secured approach to their WASP Investments.
Ship Integration studies and feasibility for optimal Cost-Benefit WASP Investment
The Key to performance enhancement of any WASP system and the absolute success of its application is how to Optimally Adapt to a specific ship so that best possible performance at seas is secured, while overall safety is maintained, and how this adaptation also has the lowest possible Total Cost of Ownership.
Ship Integration of any WASP system is paramount, since there are over 20 parameters which affect each other and if not viewed through all aspects, the end result will be either too costly or not well performing as forecasted.
We undertake full Ship Integration analysis and studies, since the pre-contract stage of a Ship Owner with a WASP provider, so that all such parameters are well defined and the Ship Owner is in position to specify a WASP Sail arrangement on their ships that will be Paying off faster and will be performing better without compromising safety.
Covering the complete WASP application Journey for a ship Owner.
Supporting WASP Technology Providers
There is a growing number of wind propulsion system developers choosing to enter the market with different technologies, system features and arrangements, such as Wing Sails, Rotor Sails, and Airborne Kites.
The applicability of each in any particular ship is highly depended on the ship design, the effective incorporation into the main propulsion arrangement and the operational integration.
With our long experience in adapting energy efficiency technologies in Newbuilding and Existing ships, we are supporting Wind-Assisted Ship Propulsion (WASP) technology providers to technically and commercially optimize their value proposition for a successful implementation on fleet basis.
WASP Research and Development
Our expert team is actively participating in numerous research projects, engaging with both Technological Institutes and Academia, in order to contribute positively to the effective and accelerated uptake of Wind-Assisted Ship propulsion in the Shipping Industry.
Since June 2019, Finocean is co-funding and participating along with other shipping industry stakeholders the WiSP (WInd assisted Ship Propulsion) global Joint Industry research project.
The purpose of the WISP project is to overcome barriers to the uptake of wind-assisted propulsion and specifically to:
- Improve methods for transparent performance prediction, encompassing the majority of wind-assisted ship propulsors,
- Use the improved methods to provide ship owners & operators with fast low cost predictions for their fleet,
- Review the regulatory perspective including status of rules and regulations, identify gaps and make recommendations, and provide examples on establishing compliance.
Strengthening WASP global policies
Finocean is a proud Member of the International Windship Association (IWSA).
The International Windship Association (wind-ship.org) is a non-profit Organization set up with a purpose of facilitating and promoting wind propulsion for commercial shipping worldwide and brings together all parties in the development of a wind-ship sector to shape industry and government attitudes and policies.
Design-With the-Winds (DWW) concept
By exploiting our experience and involvement in over 140 designed, developed, contracted, built and delivered energy efficiency newbuilding projects in Asia, and combining our expertise in Wind-Assisted ship propulsion, we are establishing a Methodology from concept to shipyard contracting that secures the maximum possible exploitation of Wind energy for propulsion, while maintaining an optimal, low carbon intensity ship, becoming commercially viable for the total trading lifetime.
The DWW concept combines ship design techniques, knowledge about wind propulsion systems, statistical databases of the wind potential in oceans and Shipyard standards for developing materializable (and not just conceptual) WASP designed ship projects.
Working with Reputable Industry Stakeholders:
Collaborating Partners
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BlueWASP is a team of specialists with several years of PhD academic background in wind-assisted propulsion studying the aerodynamic and hydrodynamic performance of windship technologies making use of an unique proprietary software.
Finocean and BlueWASP team up to deliver Integrated Solutions for Project development during the implementation of any wind propulsion system type in Newbuildings and Retrofits.
Cape Horn Engineering isa UK based company, providing best-in-class independent CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) for commercial ships, with reliable tools for hydrodynamic and aerodynamic analysis, full-scale performance prediction and design optimisationon wind-assisted and wind propeller vessels.
Finocean and Cape Horn Engineering team up to apply CFD analysis for studying the effect of aerodynamic influences of a specific ship deck arrangement, outfitting, superstructures and freeboard onto wind propulsion systems, and optimize new designs of WASP vessels.
MARIN (Maritime Research Institute of Netherlands) is a globally recognised top institute for maritime research with in-house infrastructure for model testing of new designed ships and new ship technology development.
Finocean and MARIN are joint development partners in the WiSP project for the purpose of studying, researching and developing independent performance prediction tools and methodologies for the regulatory adoption of Wind-Assisted ship propulsion from IMO and Class societies. The project started during 2021 and will be completed in 2023.