World News
GCMD Study Shows Suction Sails Cut Bunker Use by Avg 7.2% on EPS Ship
Wind-assisted propulsion is gaining ground as shipping looks to cut bunker use and emissions, but uncertainty over real-world savings persists.
The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) seeks to address this concern in its joint report with EPS.
The four-month case study on the Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) ship, Pacific Sentinel, measured the performance of three 22-meter suction sails fitted earlier this year.
The 50,000 dwt tanker was equipped with high-frequency sensors recording speed, shaft power, fuel flow, heading, and wind every 15 seconds.
More than 3,000 on/off transitions were detected between May and September as the crew manually switched the sails' fans on and off or as the system cycled automatically.
Across these trials, the Pacific Sentinel achieved an average instantaneous power saving of 7.2%, with the data showing the true figure is very likely between 6.2% and 8.2%.
GCMD also observed a peak saving of up to 28.1% during favourable wind conditions.
"Instantaneous savings reached as high as 28.1% when the apparent wind angle was 47° and wind speed was 15.3 m/s, GCMD explained in the report.
"There were instances where near-headwind conditions resulted in negative power savings as low as -14.0%.
"Both are statistically rare events given the range of wind conditions experienced in this particular testing period, at three standard deviations from the mean of instantaneous power savings derived during this testing period."
Despite this growing regulatory recognition, the uptake of the wind-assisted propulsion systems (WAPS) remains limited, GCMD argues.
The slow pace of adoption is driven mainly by the highly variable fuel savings, which change with operating and weather conditions. This leaves many owners unsure what performance to expect in day-to-day service.
Technology firm Bound4blue had completed the installation of rotor sails on the Pacific Sentinel earlier this year.
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 436.50 | 1.00 | 659.00 | 2.50 |
| Rotterdam | 406.00 | 2.00 | 649.50 | 3.50 |
| Houston | 437.00 | 7.50 | 654.00 | 4.00 |
| Fujairah | 431.00 | 2.00 | 718.50 | 2.50 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 470.50 | 1.00 | 755.50 | 3.50 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 428.00 | 1.00 | 670.00 | 3.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 518.00 | 1.00 | 796.00 | 2.50 |
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