The Kamsarmax bulk
carrier under management of MC Shipping Singapore Branch and chartered by
Cargill is said to be the world’s first ship to be equipped with BAR
Technologies’ WindWings technology.
It embarked on open
waters in August 2023. During testing, between August 2023 and March 2024, the
vessel has traversed the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, North and South Atlantic,
and navigated Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope. So far, the ship has visited six ports completing eight successful
loading and unloading operations.
“Innovative Wind Assisted Propulsion Systems (WAPS) like WindWings®
offer owners and operators new ways of saving energy and accelerating the
decarbonization of the maritime industry. At DNV we’re continually working to
build trust in these new solutions and the best way to do that is to provide
transparent, 3rd party, verified, insights into the real-world performance of
these systems. This is why we’re so pleased to be working with future focussed
companies like MC Shipping, Cargill, and BAR Technologies, to expand the
industry knowledge base on WAPS. We look forward to building on this
cooperation in the future,” Johanna Tranell, WAPS responsible, DNV Maritime Advisory, said. “The confirmation from DNV that WindWings are producing significant
savings is a testament to the collective work of all involved and our efforts
in advancing maritime fuel efficiency. This work underpins our strong
commitment to integrating low carbon technologies to contribute decarbonization
in the maritime industry,” Karmesh Kumar Tiwari, Deputy
Branch General Manager, MC Shipping Singapore Branch, commented. “Validation of the performance of the Pyxis
Ocean against BAR’s simulation models has been one of our main goals from the
outset of this project. Having DNV
involved to provide an independent perspective is an important step in that
process, and this latest data builds upon the results that we shared
earlier,” Chris Hughes, Decarbonisation Specialist, Cargill, noted.
As reported in March, according to BAR Technologies’
evaluation of the data, energy savings from all tested conditions supports the
company’s initial projections: average fuel savings of 1.5 tonnes, which is a
reduction of over 5T CO2 emissions “well-to-wake”, per WindWing per day, across
all global routes and seasons. These
savings, combined with the global operations of Pyxis Ocean, highlight
WindWings’ versatility and effectiveness in real-world scenarios. In the
future, Kamsarmax bulk carrier vessels, like the Pyxis Ocean, could carry three
wings, further increasing fuel savings and emissions reductions. “It’s
been a privilege to have the performance of our WindWings thoroughly assessed
by DNV, who have been rigorous in their approach to assessing the data and
applying impartial standards to the results. The independent confirmation that WindWings are producing significant
savings grants huge credibility to the technology. Together with our
performance guarantee – offered with all WindWings – this gives our customers
the reassurance they need,” John Cooper, CEO of BAR
Technologies, said. WindWings harness wind power to propel a ship forward,
reducing the reliance on engines and fuel consumption. Controlled by a touch panel on the bridge, a simple traffic light
system guides the crew in raising or lowering the wings. Once raised, the wings
automatically adjust to the optimal configuration based on real-time wind
measurements.