More amazing images of wind-assisted ships emerge 

Another week, and more images of giant wind-assisted creations bolted on to decks of huge merchant ships. 

This week’s two most eye-catching wind-assisted ship propulsion developments come from France and Singapore. 

Starting in Europe, Canopée, the world’s first hybrid industrial cargo ship powered by wind (pictured above), now sports four Oceanwings – automated, collapsible and patented vertical wings developed by French firm Ayro. With a height of 37 m and a surface area of 363 sq m each, these wings consist of two flaps, one forward and one aft. They can turn 360 degrees in relation to the wind and the rear flap, which can pivot around the secondary mast to create a camber in relation to the front flap. The wings generate far more power than conventional sails or single-element wings, their creators claim. 

Canopée was developed to meet French space company ArianeGroup’s logistical requirements including transporting Ariane 6 launcher parts from European ports to the Pariacabo port in Kourou, French Guiana, for the next 15 years. Ariane 6 is a program managed and financed by the European Space Agency (ESA). As prime contractor and design authority for the launcher, ArianeGroup handles development and production.

The 121 m long Canopée was delivered in December last year and last month the ship went in for its wind tech installations, which are now complete and fully tested with the ship’s owner claiming the four huge sails can deliver fuel savings of 30%. 

The ship is owned via a joint venture between Jifmar Offshore Services and Zéphyr & Borée.

Nils Joyeux, general director of Zéphyr & Borée, commented: “There are only three solutions for reducing greenhouse gases in maritime transport: reducing ship speed, using synthetic fuels and using wind propulsion. We are convinced that this last solution can play a major role in decarbonising maritime transport.”

In a separate project, Zephyr & Borée finally put pen to paper in May this year for a series of five wind-assisted, methanol-fuelled 1,300 teu ships which it claims are zero carbon.

Meanwhile, in Singapore on Monday the five-year-old Pyxis Ocean bulk carrier made headlines around the world as it embarked on its first voyage since having two rigid WindWings installed. The 81,000 dwt ship, owned by Mitsubishi Corporation and on long-term charter to Cargill, now sports two automated 37.5 m high sails (see video below) made from steel and fibreglass and developed by BAR Technologies and Yara Marine Technologies, who claim they can cut fuel consumption by up to 30%.

“The pressure is on the shipowning and chartering community to take proactive and material action to tackle the immediate and uprising challenges towards the energy transition on its existing vessels, and fast,” said Takafumi Oka, general manager of Mitsubishi Corporation’s ship department.

“Our partnership with Cargill demonstrates the collaborative effort that is required to align strategic objectives among the stakeholders and ensure the global fleet can keep pace with evolving demands to reduce the environmental impact of our industry.”

Wind-assisted ship propulsion installations are on track to double this year over last year’s figure of just over 20, according to Gavin Allwright, secretary-general of the International Windship Association (IWSA) with a wide range of wind tech being sought by shipowners, including kites, hard sails and foils. 

Wind-assisted propulsion was identified as one of the top tech developments in Splash’s annual tech forecast published at the start of the year with major charterers coming onboard to support the move. 

“The message that we have delivered to national governments, the EU, the IMO and at the UN headquarters in New York has been that wind delivers on the most ambitious targets, it is the only propulsive energy source that will effectively pay for itself and a firm, robust and predictable framework for decarbonisation is what is needed for the industry to invest, scale quickly and weather the decarbonisation storm,” Allwright wrote in IWSA’s latest newsletter.