The technology group Wärtsilä,the Netherlands based Maritime Research Institute MARIN, and Italian shipowner Grimaldi, have designed an Energy Saving Device (ESD), suitable for use by ships with Controllable Pitch Propellers (CPPs), reports Safety4Sea.
Tests prove fuel efficiency
Grimaldi’s ‘Grande Portogallo’ was trialled in sea and partners confirmed a 3.5% fuel efficiency gains.
According to Grimaldi, ”The initial noon reports suggest a 5 percent decrease in the fuel consumption, but in order to get a more realistic value we need to record a wider range of data.”
LeanShips project
The project was carried out as a part of LeanShips project, under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 framework project for research and innovation.
LeasShips aims to present the effectiveness and reliability of technologies that provide energy savings and emission reductions on a large scale.
Dario Bocchetti, Corporate Energy Saving Manager, Grimaldi Group said, ”This represents a major breakthrough in making ships with controllable pitch propellers more efficient, and therefore less polluting. We have earlier established some energy savings for ships with controllable pitch propellers, and now this new technology has been extended in line with the objectives of the LeanShips project.”
Substantial customer benefit
Meanwhile, Lars Anderson, Director, Propulsion, Wärtsilä Marine, said that Wärtsilä continues to keep collaborating with strategic partners aiming at greater efficiencies to enable both economical and better environmental performance.
Anderson added that the Energy Saving Device developed through the LeanShip project is another example of successful collaboration that results in substantial customer benefit.
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Source: Safety4Sea
