- Becker Marine Systems, known for its continuous development of environmentally-friendly product solutions for the maritime industry, is now taking another step forward – wind operated vessels.
- The operational profile of the vessel will have to be adapted and weather routing is an important part of it, but for long range operation, using wind as a “fuel” source will significantly reduce a vessel’s fuel consumption.
- The latest design of a modern car carrier contains four large wing sails, which in optimal conditions it will be able to propel the vessel up to 10 knots without engine support.
Becker Marine Systems has announced its next step forward in the development of environmentally-friendly product solutions for the maritime industry– “wind operated vessels!”, reads an article on the company website.
Scalable wind propulsion
Becker Marine has placed developing solutions to reduce energy consumption and harmful emissions at the core of their business. Becker’s products are well-established in the world market from super tankers to container ships, passenger ferries, large cruise ships and luxury yachts.
Now, they are developing scalable wind propulsion units for commercial shipping. This is done through a wealth of experience in close interaction with their customers gained through thousands of rudder and energy-saving-device projects.
The operational profile of the vessel will have to be adapted and weather routing is an important part of it, but for long range operation, using wind as a “fuel” source will significantly reduce a vessel’s fuel consumption.
“We will see different hybrid systems on board vessels in the future. There will be ships and services where sailing provides a real option for supporting propulsion,” says Henning Kuhlmann, Managing Director of Becker Marine Systems.
Special lay-down device
The key partner for this development is Wallenius Marine. The latest design of a modern car carrier contains four large wing sails of more than 1,000 m2 in area each. In optimal conditions it will be able to propel the vessel up to 10 knots without engine support.
Unlike most other approaches, Becker’s wing sail will consist of two vertical sections, forming an aerodynamic foil. It is a great advantage that the wing sails can be operated at a small angle towards the apparent wind, enabling the vessel to use the wing sails on most courses.
In order to pass under bridges, provide safe operation in port and “reef” the system in harsh conditions, Becker has developed a special lay-down device for the new technology.
The company’s high-end rudders and products such as the Becker Mewis Duct® are the benchmark for efficiency and performance of manoeuvring systems and energy-saving solutions.
As Becker continues to develop emission reducing solutions in the maritime industry, the company not only offers LNG-based cold ironing solutions (Becker LNG PowerPac®) and Compact Marine Battery Systems (COBRA).
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Source: Becker Marine Systems
