International Windship Association News

RINA has awarded an Approval in Principle (AiP) for Blue Wasp Marine’s Pelican performance prediction software for wind-assisted ships.With this, Pelican has become the first software of its kind to have received class recognition.Pelican, the product of over 10 years of PhD research, is able to simulate the performance of a ship equipped with wind propulsion technologies using specific wind conditions and sea states. Pelican features a built-in force module for both aero- and hydrodynamics.

If the global commercial fleet reduced its speed by 10%, it would reduce underwater radiated noise by 40%, but nothing’s ever that simple.The main thing holding the shipping industry back from reducing its underwater radiated noise (URN) is not a lack of appropriate technology. It’s argued that many of the technologies being implemented today to reduce fuel consumption also reduce noise. So, the noise reductions could essentially come at no net cost to the shipowner, but there’s a lack of regulation and a lack of targeted incentives…

Sailing cargo ships are making a genuine comeback.Japanese bulk carrier MOL is operating a wind-assisted ship. American food giant Cargill is working with Olympic sailor Ben Ainslie to deploy WindWings on its routes. Swedish shipping company Wallenius is aiming for Oceanbird to cut emissions by up to 90%. The French start-up Zephyr & Borée has built the Canopée, which will transport parts of European Space Agency’s Ariane 6 rocket this year.I researched the decarbonisation of the shipping industry.

An innovative kite system is being put through its paces on board a cargo ship crossing the Atlantic as wind propulsion takes off for commercial shipping as a means to reduce fuel burn and harmful environmental emissions.The system, called Seawing, has been developed by France-based Airseas, and is currently being trialed on the 154-meter ro-ro vessel Ville de Bordeaux, which is operated by Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) and chartered by Airbus, Airseas' minority shareholder and launch customer.As the ship transports aircraft components between Europe and the United States…

Climate change advocates and seafarers recently gathered for a small conference at the Hudson Valley Maritime Museum in Kingston, N.Y., to discuss the shipping industry’s struggle to achieve sustainability and environmental compliance.The setting, the hamlet of Rondout, N.Y. (within Kingston), holds significance as it was, ironically, a Hudson River port once considered the largest coal port in the world (yes, the world). In 1828, the opening of the Delaware and Hudson Canal enabled coal to be delivered from Pennsylvania to New York City.

The latest installations of wind propulsion technology on large commercial vessels have tipped the amount of cargo that can be transported on vessels that make use of wind as a renewable energy source over the one million tonnes of deadweight (DWT) milestone.The timing of wind-powered ship propulsion passing this pivotal milestone comes in the same week that the industry celebrates World Maritime Day and its theme "New Technologies for Greener Shipping".In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in equipping vessels to harness the power of the wind.

As the maritime industry searches for technologies and energy sources that can deliver on upcoming decarbonization regulations from the IMO and EU and ultimately delivering zero-emissions shipping, the development and deployment of wind propulsion technologies have been making headlines that speak to a growing momentum. Today, sees the release of the report from a group of more than 40 experts and stakeholders that came together for a workshop to identify the strategy priorities for wind propulsion development in the near future…

A new crowdfunding campaign aims to raise funds for developing world seafarers and their families that have been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.The world's seafarers, especially those from poorer countries, are facing a number of challlenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Many are in lockdown with casual contracts and unable to work; others are facing difficulties due to lockdowns when they leave ships and are unable to return to their families with costs and little income coming in…

The WASP (Wind Assisted Ship Propulsion) project, funded by the Interreg North Sea Europe program, part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to the tune of €3.4 million has been officially approved and launched.The project brings together universities, wind-assist technology providers with ship owners to research, trial and validate the operational performance of a selection of wind propulsion solutions thus enabling wind propulsion technology market penetration and contributing to a greener North Sea transport system through harvesting the regions abundant wind potential.This fully aligns with the wider programs’ objective of promoting the development and adoption of products…

The decarbonization drive is gearing up to be the defining issue faced by the shipping sector in the coming decades and the industry is searching for low carbon and zero emissions technologies that will deliver on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) initial strategy of reducing emissions by at least 50% by 2050. One family of technologies that is seeing an upsurge of interest in the industry is wind-assist and primary wind propulsion solutions. Today the Paris headquartered…

French family-owned maritime transportation group Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) is venturing into wind-powered shipping as the group sees the benefits of operational savings and a need for decarbonisation.LDA Group has become the latest member of the International Windship Association (IWSA) to help further the development of these primary renewable solutions.LDA President, Edouard Louis-Dreyfus, stated: "we are very excited by the development of wind solutions as a key answer to the decarbonisation challenges we are facing today and it is only natural for us to join the International Windship Association in its drive to further develop these technologies."LDA Group owns…

The Vessel Technology Assessment System Project (VTAS Project) has finished its development stage and is set to go live.The UK-based design, engineering and risk management consultancy firm BMT, in collaboration with Black & Veatch, created VTAS for the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) in the UK. Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) is the advisor of the project.The VTAS Project ran from 1 January 2018 to 31 March 2019 and brought together the combined maritime and engineering consultancy expertise of BMT and Black & Veatch to inform the commercial maritime industry of the benefits of investing in and promoting fuel efficient technologies.The £1.8m initiative was funded by the ETI…

In examining the history of commercial ships, the common refrain is “from sail to steam to diesel.” If the International Windship Association (IWSA) is right, that common refrain one day could be “from sail to steam to diesel … to sail.”As the collective maritime industry struggles to find a future proof propulsion system to meet ever stricter environmental emissions mandates from the IMO, serious talk and research is being paid to alternative technologies such as wind propulsion.

The World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) has today announced a key strategic partnership with the International Windship Association (IWSA) in order to further promote the uptake of wind technology by the global shipping fleet. WWEA is a not-for-profit organisation with over 600-member organisations across 100 countries. The Association promotes the deployment of wind energy technology around the world, and, as founding member of the REN Alliance and the Global100%RE Platform, is working towards full substitution of all polluting and hazardous waste causing energies. IWSA, also a not-for-profit organisation, unites over 30 commercial wind propulsion technology providers and projects supported by numerous universities, research and testing organisations and other associates.

The Wind Propulsion Innovation Awards were created by the International Windship Association (IWSA) to honor the pioneers of technological innovation in wind propulsion striving to support the shipping industry to decarbonizes whilst maintaining commercial and operational performance. The IWSA Awards sought to spotlight both individuals and companies making a significant difference in advancing wind propulsion in the maritime sector. In July some 40 nominations were received at IWSA headquarters. These were assessed and shortlisted by a panel of experts drawn from across the shipping sector.

The International Windship Association (IWSA) will host its annual Wind Propulsion Innovation Forum at SMM2016 in Hamburg, including an extensive agenda with expert speakers and panelists that aim to provoke discussion and debate about wind propulsion as key to the future of sustainable shipping. The IWSA Innovation Forum spans all four days of the conference, September 6-9. A broad spectrum of wind propulsion technology providers and ship development projects will be showcasing the latest developments in Rotor technology, Suction Wing, Dynarig and various Hard Sail technologies.

The International Windship Association (IWSA) has announced the shortlist, selected by shipping industry experts, for the inaugural Wind Propulsion Innovation Awards 2016 and voting is now open to everyone to select the winners in three categories – Innovation, Technology User and Research. The Lifetime Achievement Award is a closed vote for IWSA members. The Awards will be presented at a ceremony at the SMM2016 on 8th September 2016 in Hamburg. The Wind Propulsion Innovation Awards were launched by IWSA to recognise pioneering projects and technological innovation in the development of wind propulsion for technically and commercially viable solutions for different vessels across the maritime industry.

As the interconnector of global trade shipping facilitates every other part of the economy, and decision making around low-carbon pathways in other transport modes and industries will both influence and constrain decarbonisation in shipping. Whatever the outcomes at UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris the shipping sector faces a huge challenge of rapid decarbonisation. Clear emission reduction goals and unequivicol leadership is essential. The shipping sector’s energy efficiency improvements are to be commended but to meet the scale and speed of decarbonisation necessary to reach the globally agreed 2 degree target step change technologies need to be rapidly developed.

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…