Modern WindShip : Le retour de la marine à voile ?
Publié : 04/05/06, 18:47
J'en avais révé, ils l'ont fait ...mais bon c'est pas si "rose"...
In 1995, the Danish Ministry for Environment and Energy granted funding for KEH to investigate the feasibility of using sail-assisted power to propel commercial ships.
Phase I
For Phase 1, which was finished in November 1996, a huge material of sailing and sail-assisted ship projects from the last 30 years was
investigated. The study envisaged a new type of sailing vessel named "Modern WindShip" with a length of about 200 m and 50,000 tonnes deadweight. The proposed WindShip was compared to conventional ships, and it was concluded that despite significant fuel savings, the overall transportation cost was increased by approximately 10 per cent. The report "Modern WindShips - Phase 1" was published towards the end of 1996.
Phase II
Based on the positive findings of phase 1, new funds were provided by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency acting on behalf of the former Danish Council for Recycling and Lesser Polluting Technology. We carried out Phase II with selected external partners - The Danish Maritime Institute, The Danish Meteorological Institute and Maersk Broker - and produced the following results:
An innovative rig design, with complete mechanical layout.
A new underwater hull, specifically designed for the dual propulsion using both wind and diesel power.
A Velocity Prediction Programme (VPP) developed specifically for the WindShip.
Extensive weather routing based on 400,000 simulated voyages with the WindShip for precise prediction of real-life fuel consumption.
A financial feasibility study confirming that the 10% higher freight rate is necessary for the WindShip. This is due to the fact that at the present stage construction and running costs are slightly higher for the WindShip.
There is reason to believe that further technical simplification and optimisation will reduce the price gap between conventional and wind-assisted ships.
Where the weather/wind conditions are reasonable - e.g. on Atlantic routes - fuel savings of about 27% can be achieved. On routes where the superior internal volume capacity ( ?? ) of the WindShip can be properly utilised, 50% fuel savings are possible.
This corresponds to an annual fuel saving of some 4,800 tonnes, which significantly reduces harmful CO2, SOx and NOx emissions and makes the Windship an environmentally acceptable mode of transport.