Norwegian "Wind Ship" Design Promises 60% Bunker Savings

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday September 20, 2013

A Norwegian entrepreneur has developed a partially wind-powered containership that he says could reduce fuel use by 60 percent and drop emissions 80 percent compared with standard ships, the environmental news site treehugger reports.

Terje Lade, a speed-sailing entrepreneur says the "Wind Ship" essentially uses its hull as a sail, channeling air to provide extra power to supplement a natural-gas powered engine.

The ship would use a computerised sailing system that calculates wind speed and direction to find the best angle to catch the wind and would travel at about 14 knots.

The ship concept has been tested at a wind tunnel at Cranfield University in the United Kingdom, and Lade said he hopes to work with companies to build a Wind Ship within three to four years.

The ship meets all MARPOL Annex VI requirements, as well as Annex VI's chapter 4 rules on energy efficiency, according to Lade's website.

Lloyd's Register recently said that another sail power concept under development has the potential to reduce fuel costs by 30 percent.