Asia/Pacific News
Singapore Bulk Carrier Gets Solar Upgrade
General cargo ship MV Panamana has received a solar energy upgrade.
In what appears to be a world first, the installation was done entirely by the crew while the ship was at sea operating normally.
The system was provided by Japan's Eco Marine Power (EMP) and included its Aquarius Management & Automation System (MAS).
The ship is owned by Masterbulk Pte. Ltd. (Singapore) and has been the focus of a ship renewable energy study for a number of years. The installation of the ship solar power equipment is said to be a major milestone for the project.
"Masterbulk is very interested to be part of these trials, made with the target to find out how green energy resources can contribute to reduce usage of fossil fuel," said Lars Modin, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Masterbulk.
The system was sent as installation kits that allowed the crew to install the equipment without the need of specialized tools. Technical support was provided mainly online or via e-mail.
Greg Atkinson, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Eco Marine Power, said the project "dismisses the myth that solar power is difficult to install on ships or requires the ship to spend days alongside."
"Yes there were challenges, but thanks to years of R&D including ship solar power trials we were able to deal with these and this also allowed us to further fine tune our installation kits," he added.
"If shipping companies are serious about reducing emissions, then solar power is an option that can help achieve this and it's ready now for use on almost any type of ship."
