International Windship Association Launched

An international association has been created to facilitate and promote wind propulsion for commercial shipping worldwide.

The founding members of a new association for the shipping industry have announced the establishment of the International Windship Association (IWSA), an association that will encourage, advise and advocate for the use of wind propulsion technologies in the shipping industry.

IWSA, established in the U.K. as an unincorporated, not-for-profit entity, will facilitate and promote the technology, applications and general concept of wind propulsion for the global commercial shipping industry and bring together all parties interested in catalyzing the development and uptake of these technology solutions. The IWSA will also play a role in acting on behalf of members and supporters within this sector in order to shape industry, regulators’ and international bodies’ perception of the concept of wind propulsion.

IWSA informed that a great deal of support has been received since its initial inception; thus far 50 members and supporters have registered and the organizers expect those ranks to swell in coming months following the inaugural annual general meeting for the association, held in October.

Gavin Allwright, IWSA Secretary, commented, “Our goal is to be an advocate for the development of wind propulsion solutions in the industry, whether retrofit, wind-assisted, new builds or wind as the primary propulsion source.  We recognize and applaud the efforts of the industry to reduce emissions, the increased interest in renewable energy sources and the gradual changing perceptions about wind propulsion.”

Allwright continued, “With the help of our members, supporters within the industry, academia and other stakeholders, IWSA will be sending out a clear message: wind propulsion is a serious and increasingly proven option, financially a win-win situation and we are here to work with an industry ready for change.”

It was at the Carbon War Room’s Creating Climate Wealth Summit, late 2012, in Berlin that several representatives from the wind-assisted shipping sector came together to tackle the ongoing issues facing this highly innovative and increasingly relevant sector: isolated actions, lack of collaboration and limited sharing of knowledge.

The group of industry experts and innovators driving IWSA include;B9 SHIPPING (Diane Gilpin), ENERGY SHIP/MODERN MERCHANT SAILING VESSEL (Siegfried Manzel), FAIR WINDS TRADING COMPANY (Madadh MacClaine), NORSEPOWER (Tuomas Riski), PROPELWIND (Patrick Englebert), and SEAGATE SAIL (Marcello Segato).

The objectives of IWSA include:

• Network - create a clear sectoral approach, grouping like-minded organizations and individuals that can share ideas, skills, as well as technical and market information for the development of commercial wind-ships.
• Promote – promote the economic value of wind propulsion to the industry
• Incubate - assist in securing funding streams, project collaboration, grant applications, research and the pooling of resources.
• Educate - act as a central information hub for the wind propulsion sector, ship owners and operators, shipyards, ports, governments, equipment producers, the media, NGOs, and the general public. 
• Facilitate – initiate the establishment of common approaches/criteria for all stages of wind propulsion projects, advise stakeholders and lobby legislative bodies on policies, activities, funding and incentives required to retrofit existing ships and build new commercial wind-ships.

Membership of IWSA is available to companies and organizations involved in the marine wind propulsion sector along with associate members and supporters that share our vision coming on board from the wider industry, academia, nonprofit sector etc.