Bubbles all round as Silverstream celebrates record air lubrication order from MSC

There’ll be more than the normal champagne bubbles when many of Mediterranean Shipping Co’s (MSC) raft of newbuilds start to deliver over the coming few years following news yesterday of the single largest ever order for air lubrication systems ensuring the new ships sail on a sea of fizz.

British firm Silverstream Technologies has announced that it has secured more than 30 orders of its air lubrication technology for many of MSC’s large boxships on order.

“Over the vessels’ lifecycles, a carbon emissions reduction of 1.6m tonnes – equivalent to the annual emissions of 350,000 cars – could be achieved as a direct impact of having the system onboard,” Silverstream claimed in a release yesterday. Over the same period, MSC will see an estimated fuel saving of $300m.

Silverstream’s technology has been independently proven to save 5-10% of fuel and emissions by generating a rigid carpet of air bubbles that reduce friction between the hull and the water.

Noah Silberschmidt, founder and CEO, Silverstream Technologies, said: “This order of more than 30 systems for MSC’s newbuild programme is a landmark moment for both Silverstream and for clean technology adoption across shipping. It is the single largest order of not only our technology, but of any air lubrication technology in the history of our market. We are extremely proud of this achievement and are ready for the challenge of managing our largest ever installation programme at five different shipyards.”