BAR Technologies partners with Deltamarin on Aframax/LR2 vessel design

Marine engineering consultancy BAR Technologies and Finland’s naval architect firm Deltamarin have collaborated to develop a new vessel design that integrates wind propulsion technology, Aframax/LR2.

PHOTO: BAR Technologies

The new Aframax/LR2 hull design can improve current fleet performance by 15% through wind propulsion, claims the UK-based consultancy. The project is currently in its initial phase.

The hull design can reduce fuel consumption by 10 mt/day, for example once installed with four WindWings wind propulsion systems on a ship that sails between North America and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the two firms assert.

“So far, we have made fine progress in harnessing wind power using sails, but we are finding increased performance all the time and, with this hull design, we are witnessing a 15% improvement against our current fleet,” Deltamarin's director of sales and marketing Esa Jokioinen said.

BAR and Deltamarin had previously collaborated on WindWings, a rigid sail technology. Each sail can reduce fuel consumption by about 1.5 mt/day, they claim. It awaits debut on Pyxis Ocean, an 80,962-dwt dry bulk carrier owned by Mitsubishi and chartered by Cargill, the duo stated.

Factors such as the vessel type and the service route can affect the progress toward maximum efficiency, the duo added. Further research is required to enhance the overall performance under the water’s surface level.

“Wind is the free fuel, and it is the gauntlet laid down in front of innovators like ourselves to work out how we can displace fossil fuels with wind power,” BAR Technologies' chief executive John Cooper says.

By Aparupa Mazumder 

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