Maersk turns to wind sails to cut fuel for container ships

{"text":[[{"start":7.56,"text":"Maersk has signed a deal to install the first wind sail on a container ship as the maritime industry returns to an age-old technology to cut fuel consumption and comply with tougher environmental regulations."}],[{"start":19.88,"text":"The sail, a 35m-high rotor sail designed by the British company Anemoi, will be retrofitted to a medium-sized container ship as a pilot project to demonstrate whether the technology can meaningfully cut the cost of fuel and emissions permits."}],[{"start":34.4,"text":"Nick Contopoulos, chief commercial officer at Anemoi, said that container ships presented a particular challenge for installing wind power as nearly all the deck space was used for cargo storage."}],[{"start":44.88,"text":"“Container ships haven’t been core to [installations] because of the deck space question,” he said. But he added that there were benefits to using modern sails on container ships."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":54.16,"text":"“They are on very dedicated routes so knowing the predictability of wind [and] the vessel’s operating speed, you can target the high wind profile routes which improves the business case and the return on investment,” he said."}],[{"start":66.88,"text":"There is little resemblance between the rotor sails installed by Anemoi and the traditional white sheets hung from masts, whose use dates back to ancient Egypt."}],[{"start":75.68,"text":"The rotor technology spins in the wind using a physical phenomenon by which spinning objects create propulsion, known as the “Magnus effect”, to push the vessel forward. According to Anemoi, optimal conditions are winds coming from the starboard side of the ship, or the vessel’s right when looking towards the front."}],[{"start":93.6,"text":"The rotor sail installed on the Maersk ship will be positioned at the front of the ship and will be fixed upright. Other systems Anemoi builds can be folded down when a ship comes into port."}],[{"start":104.32,"text":"Ole Graa Jakobsen, head of fleet technology at Maersk, said that the world’s second-largest container shipping line saw the project “as a valuable opportunity to build practical experience and assess its relevance for our fleet and for container shipping more broadly”."}],[{"start":119.12,"text":"Gavin Allwright, secretary-general of the International Windship Association, said there had been a steady increase in interest in wind propulsion technologies as environmental regulations for shipping tighten."}],[{"start":130.8,"text":"A variety of other wind propulsion technologies are being developed, including retractable folding sails and suction wings."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":137.48,"text":"The EU has included the maritime sector in its emissions trading system since 2024 and has introduced new rules requiring shipowners to cut the emissions intensity of the fuels they burn. Meanwhile, the International Maritime Organization is negotiating new emissions rules for the sector despite deep divisions over the level of ambition, with strong pushback against the decarbonisation effort from the US."}],[{"start":161.44,"text":"Shipping currently accounts for about 3 per cent of global annual carbon emissions."}],[{"start":166.12,"text":"There are about 110 commercial installations on vessels above 400 gross tonnage, with a further 80 to 90 on order and about 50 in the pipeline, said Allwright."}],[{"start":175.76,"text":"“In the past few years we’ve seen a doubling [of installations] each year,” he said, with higher fuel costs as a result of the war in the Middle East also boosting interest."}],[{"start":185.8,"text":"Owing to their large amount of spare deck space, sails have mostly been installed on tankers but have also been built into bulk cargo ships and car carriers."}],[{"start":194.36,"text":"Peter Jameson, managing director at Boston Consulting Group, said that fuel savings from wind technology could be anywhere between 5 and 25 per cent “depending on the vessel and route, and potentially higher in favourable conditions”."}],[{"start":207.6,"text":"“The bigger barrier now is commercial rather than technical. These systems can cost several million dollars to install and the payback period can extend well beyond a typical charter contract. Often the shipowner bears the upfront cost while the charterer benefits from the lower fuel bill, so the incentives are not naturally aligned,” he added."}],[{"start":226.86,"text":"Anemoi estimates that each of its rotor sails, which are typically installed in groups of three to five, save approximately one tonne of fuel per day and about three tonnes of CO₂ emissions per sail."}],[{"start":236.92,"text":"They cost between $600,000 and $1.2mn per sail, excluding installation costs, Contopoulos said."}],[{"start":249.8,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1788332033_8966.mp3"}