Wind Assisted Ship PropulsionTechnologies – Can they Help in Emissions Reduction?

Abstract

According to International Maritime Organization, emissions coming from global shipping are expected to increase 50% to 250% by the year 2050. This concern led to the introduction of various regulations that aims to encourage ship owners and builders to explore innovative renewable technologies. The main focus of this article is on wind-assisted ship propulsion technologies, as a complement to ship propulsion, such as rigid sail, soft sail, wing sail, kite, and Flettner rotor. These technologies are not widely accepted because ship owners have doubts due to the lack of real-life results and their implementation and efficiency greatly depends on ship design and purpose. This article shows the progress in the field of wind-assisted ship propulsion in the last 15 years which proved the concept as they have the potential to reduce fuel consumption, thus emissions, by double digits. The conclusion is drawn, from fuel savings percentages, that rotor and soft sails technologies have great potential in the future of the shipping industry.