The unusually high futuristic ship won't be conventionally powered by dirty, noisy engines running on heavy fuel oil or marine diesel, but by gas-electric drive -- and the wind.
Called Vindskip ("wind ship"), the hybrid cargo vessel is the brainchild of Norwegian engineer and speed sailor Terje Lade. "Sustainable sea transport" is his stated aim.
"My ship will achieve fuel savings of 60 per cent and an emissions reduction of 80 per cent" compared with traditional ships, said Lade, 63, who established the company Lade AS in Alesund, Norway, in 2010 to develop the now-patented ship design.
Inspired by the aerodynamics of airplanes and sailboats, Vindskip's hull is shaped like a symmetrical airfoil.
"The wind is converted into propulsive force as with an airplane," Lade said. "But it propels forward, not upward."
And as with a sailboat, even wind blowing from the side can push the vessel forward. According to Lade, the push from the wind will be positive 45 per cent of the time.
To start the vessel, manoeuvre, maintain a constant speed, overcome low winds and provide thrust into headwinds, Vindskip has engines powered by environmentally friendly liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Ensuring maximum performance from the vessel's design is computer software developed by Germany's Fraunhofer Centre for Maritime Logistics and Services (CML), which calculates the optimal sailing route based on the winds and other meteorological data -- updated daily -- including wave height.
"With our weather routing module, the best route can be calculated in order to consume as little fuel as possible. As a result, costs are reduced. After all, bunker (ship fuel oil) expenses account for the largest part of the total costs in the shipping industry," said Laura Walther, a researcher at CML.
The software will also help the ship to avoid storms, Lade remarked.
He said his prototype Vindskip, initially conceived on a computer as a car carrier, had a design lending itself to so-called dry cargo vessels such as RoRo (roll on/roll off), RoPax (roll on/roll off passenger), PCTC (pure car/truck carrier), passenger and container ships.
With a top speed of about 18 knots, it's as fast as conventionally powered ships and can go up to 70 days without refuelling, thanks to its low fuel consumption, the CML said, adding: "It can meet all of today's and tomorrow's challenges with regard to fuel economy and emission control."
The challenges are growing. On January 1, the International Maritime Organization lowered the maximum allowable sulphur content in marine fuels from 1.0 per cent (by weight) to 0.1 per cent in certain emission control areas (ECAs).
Outside ECAs, the limit drops from the current 3.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent in 2020.
As CML points out, higher-quality, low-sulphur fuel is more expensive than the heavy fuel oil typically used now, presenting shipping companies with the "major challenge" of reducing their fuel costs while complying with emission regulations.
Lade sees sulphur limits as the "driving force" for Vindskip, since LNG contains virtually no sulphur.
"The big problem with sulphur is that it acidifies the sea and this means that shrimps and crabs can't form their shells," he said. "It's very bad. Something has to be done."
Officials at the Danish container shipping giant A.P. Moeller-Maersk have expressed scepticism about the Vindskip project.
"In general, we do not believe that wind-assisted designs will play any significant role within the container shipping industry in the foreseeable future," said Signe Bruun Jensen, head of sustainability at Maersk.
She said Maersk was having success with its Triple-E (energy efficiency, environmental performance and economies of scale) container ships, claiming that their two ultra-long-stroke engines, two propellers and an advanced waste heat recovery system improved CO2 efficiency by 50 per cent per container.
In the view of the specialists at CML, the success of Vindskip or other wind-assisted vessels -- using towing kites or sails attached to the decks, for example -- will ultimately depend on how quickly, punctually and economically they can transport cargo from point A to point B.
The operational costs of such vessels are hard to predict at present, noted CML engineer Claudia Bosse. Nevertheless, she and her colleagues regard Lade's project as revolutionary.
Lade, for his part, is not discouraged by the sceptics, and points to support from the Norwegian maritime industry group Wilhelmsen.
"We're going to put out to sea in 2019," he said.
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