HANSA 10-2017

Schiffstechnik | Ship Technology
might be able to supply complimentary
technologies including on-board DC
grid, low power DC lighting and power
management systems«, Atkinson tells
HANSA.
Commenting on this latest development
he adds: »It’s great that we are able
to co-operate with Hisafuku Kisen and
we very much appreciate their cooperation
in helping us move this important
project towards sea trials.« Chikashi
Yamane, President of Hisafuku Kisen,
stated. »Our company is pleased to be
part of this exciting project which is leading
the way towards the use of renewable
energy related technologies on ships.«
The production of each EnergySail to
be used during the sea trials will be undertaken
at the workshops of Teramoto
Iron Works in Onomichi. This company
was also involved in the production of
rigid sails in the 1980’s and has extensive
experience regarding the manufacturing
of high quality marine fittings for ships.
In the 1980’s several Japanese ships
were fitted with rigid sails with the aim
of reducing fuel consumption. This was
driven largely by the oil crisis in the
1970’s which resulted in oil shortages
and the price of oil soaring. However the
oil crisis passed and when oil prices fell
in the 1980’s the viability of rigid sails in
terms of cost was undermined.
However Japanese ships such as the
»Shin Aitoku Maru« and »Usuki Pioneer«
which were fitted with JAMDA
(Japan Machinery Development Association)
rigid sails, did prove that rigid sails
reduced fuel consumption. More than a
dozen ships were fitted with these JAM-
DA sails.
Today the amount of potential savings
depends on »a few variables such as the
ship type, the route it operates on and
the operating profile of the ship«, Atkinson
explains, adding »however our aim is
to provide a system that can reduce fuel
consumption by around 10% annually.
Theoretically higher fuel savings can be
achieved through the use of larger sails
(20 m or higher) but our research indicates
that the use of large sails on most
modern powered commercial ships is not
feasible.« 8% could be saved by sails and
2% from solar.
Although the system was initially designed
for large ships, much of the associated
technology might also be suitable
for smaller vessels such as coastal
freighters, passenger ferries and tou rist
boats. A study is also being conduc ted
to determine if it would be feasible to
use the system on naval and government
vessels such as patrol ships. EMP
says elements of the system are also
suitable for autonomous surface vessels
(ASV’s) and unmanned surface vessels
(USV’s).
The rigid sail – made from marine
grade steel or a carbon fibre composite
material or both – is moved automatically
by the computer control system to
best suit the prevailing weather conditions.
Each sail may also be fitted with
other power generating devices and sensors.
They can also be lowered when a
ship is loading/unloading cargo or during
storms, it is said. The collected energy
from the solar panels can be stored
in batteries. The batteries when charged
can then be used to power the ship’s operational
equipment or alternatively, be
used as a power source when at harbour
or at anchor.
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HANSA International Maritime Journal – 154. Jahrgang – 2017 – Nr. 10 57