France’s Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) Group is the latest shipowner to invest in wind power.
LDA Group owns, charters and operates over 100 vessels worldwide and has been searching for ways to significantly reduce emissions along with its customer Airbus. The positive results garnered from the testing of the Airseas kite system, created by an Airbus spinoff, has led to the decision to have one permanently fitted on board the Ville de Bordeaux roro from next year. The ship is dedicated to the transport of Airbus parts around Europe. Also, LDA has initiated the design of a large transoceanic roro vessel with full integration of wind-assisted propulsion and plans to continue development work in this field.
Last month, Japan’s Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) signed up for potentially 50 Airseas kite systems, the largest single wind power investment in modern merchant shipping.
