A ship that sails helps the wind. Put like that, it doesn't sound like much of a novelty. However, the Shofu Maru is a full-fledged innovation. She is the first large cargo ship in the world equipped with the Wind Challenger system, which supports propulsion with wind energy captured with a semi-rigid sail.
This bulk carrier of 235 meters long, 43 meters wide and 100,422 deadweight tons has been built for the Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and was launched on October 7 at the Oshima Shipbuilding shipyards, near the Japanese city of Saikai. The first commercial route began on October 22 in the direction of Newcastle (Australia).
The Wind Challenger is a system, developed mainly by MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding, with scientific support from the University of Tokyo, which uses an extendable or telescopic sail to take advantage of the force of the wind to move the propellers that propel the boat.
The Wind Challenger system installed on the Shofu Maru is made up of a deployable structure that reaches a height of 43 meters. This semi-rigid sail is adjustable, depending on the origin of the wind.
The promoter company highlights with this system it is possible to reduce the amount of fuel used in cargo transport of the Shofu Maru, which is expected to reduce the environmental impact and improve the energy (and economic) efficiency of this type of maritime transport.
MOL Group is now working on the construction of a second bulk carrier equipped with the Wind Challenger.
The MOL company recalls that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategies in April 2018, setting goals such as reducing GHG emissions by 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels. This initiative aims to align with the commitments of the signatory countries of the Paris Agreement.
In this sense, indicates the Japanese shipping company, Wind Challenger uses wind energy as a complementary propulsion force, so savings of between 5% and 8% in fuel consumption can be achieved. "Wind Challenger adds wind power directly to the propulsion power of the ship, to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels while maintaining speed. Leveraging the latest technologies, we have managed to reduce the fuel consumption of a large cargo ship and drastically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. GEI", affirms the promoter company.
The development process of the Wind Challenger has exceeded five years of research, based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models and wind tunnel experiments to estimate the propulsion force generated.
"We multiplied the polar plots by the wind conditions and vessel speeds on the expected sailing lane to calculate the overall wind power assist (propulsion force assisted) on the sailing lane and compared it to the case without the force. sail-assisted propulsion," explains the company.
As a result of the models - data that must now be confirmed in real navigation - the power of propulsion assisted by the sail translates, in full load navigation, "in a 5% reduction in fuel consumption for the route of Japan to Australia and 8% for the Japan west coast route to North America."
To reduce the weight of the large deployable sail, the construction company has used glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) as the base material. The synthetic material used "allowed us to increase the dimensions of the sail to maximize the propulsion force it generates, and also minimized its impact on the balance of the ship, which significantly improves operational safety", indicates MOL.
Wind Challenger has an automatic sail control system, which detects the speed and direction of the wind through sensors. The sail extends if the wind is light and shrinks if the wind is strong.
The promoters of the project estimate that the Wind Challenger system will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 5% on a trip between Japan and Australia and 8% on a trip between Japan and the west coast of Australia. North America, compared to a conventional ship of the same type. and contribute to reducing GHG emissions during fuel transportation.
A paradox in the construction and service of this ship is that its purpose is the transport of coal, mainly from Australia, Indonesia and North America, for the Japanese company Tohoku Electric Power. It goes without saying that the combustion of coal in thermal power plants is one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, causing climate change.
