Military to Use Wind Power to Cut Bunker Costs

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday February 9, 2012

The Irish Navy is the latest organisation looking to the skies in order to reduce its soaring fuel bill, the Irish Examiner reports.

Commodore Mark Mellett said the Navy was collaborating with the Irish Maritime and Energy Resource Cluster, UCC, and CIT to develop the "kite sails" to harness the power of wind to help propell their vessels.

The kites would be attached to the ships by steel ropes and retracted when not in use.

"The kites would be used to reduce our energy bills, as we use 40% of the fuel allocated to the Defence Forces," said the commodore.

"They could provide us with a speed of up to eight knots, which is as fast as a normal trawler."

The high-tech fuel saving kites, which it is anticipated would only be used when a ship was carrying out surveillance, would also be fitted with sensors that could enhance ships' radar capability almost five fold.

"Normally, radar capabilities are to the horizon, which would be 12 to 15 nautical miles. But if we put sensors on the kites, which would be 100m up in the air, that capability would be increased to up to 50 nautical miles", said Mellett.

"If the concept proves viable, the technology could be in use in a few years' time. The innovation could also be valuable to other navies."

Ship & Bunker News Team
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