Partners unveil wind-optimised tanker design

Finland-based ship design firm, Deltamarin, and BAR Technologies of the UK have announced a wind-optimised Aframax/LR2 tanker design, named Aquilo. The new design combines efficiency gains relating to hull form and the wind sail company’s WindWings® technology, together with a new superstructure configuration.

Recognising the potential for efficiency gains in both existing ships and newbuildings, the partners focused on making the most of wind energy by optimising both hull and propulsion systems. The design ensures aerodynamic optimisation through the positioning of four WindWings and the AeroBridge®, described as ‘a novel aerodynamically superior deckhouse design’.

The partners claim that the setup will potentially yield ‘a remarkable improvement in fuel efficiency’. Simulations indicate fuel consumption of less than 27 tonnes a day at 14.5 knots and less than 13 tonnes a day at 12 knots on an average global route. This positions Aquilo as the new benchmark in sustainable ship design, they said.

So far, only two tankers are thought to have been earmarked for wind sails. Four 26m-high eSAILs® from Barcelona-based bound4blue are to be installed this year on a juice tanker, Atlantic Orchard, chartered by Louis Dreyfus Company and operated by Sweden’s Wisby Tankers.

The 49,120dwt chemical tanker, Bow Olympus, built in 2019, will also have bound4blue eSAILs fitted during a drydocking later this year.