Bureau Veritas is the new member of the International Windship Association (IWSA) to assist in the development of various renewable solutions. BV’s addition is expected to boost IWSA’s development with the establishment of regional wind propulsion ‘centres of excellence’ or ‘hubs’ around the world.
Specifically, in light of BV’s addition, Panos Koutsourakis Global Technology Leader, Sustainable Ships for Bureau Veritas commented
A key focus area for BV is supporting safety and new technology to reduce emissions from shipping – and one area we are looking at is wind powered, or wind assisted, shipping. The time is right to further develop the wind propulsion sector and for us to help in supporting the development of safe performance objectives.
The goal of decarbonisation is a top priority for the shipping industry, as the industry is looking for greener solutions in its attempt to reduce emissions, keeping in mind that the IMO expects that the shipping industry will achieve the zero-emissions goal by 2050. In this context, the maritime sector and its stakeholders are looking for technologies to achieve the goals, with one technological solution being wind-assist and wind propulsion solutions.
Concerning BV’s addition, the first European IWSA-Atlantic hub is located in Nantes, France and was constructed there last year. The hub will be followed by clusters in the North Sea & Baltic, Pacific and North America. Nantes is an important centre for BV, where it has a presence focused on providing engineering services through Bureau Veritas Solutions.
In addition, Gavin Allwright, Secretary General of IWSA stated
We are delighted to welcome Bureau Veritas aboard at such a critical time in the industry.
Many are the companies that have already joined IWSA, such as Maersk, Renault, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, MOL, Chantiers De L’Atlantique, Fehn, CMCS, Enercon, Blue Planet Shipping and many more shipping companies. For all its actions towards a more sustainable shipping, the International Windship Association (IWSA) has received the 2019 GREEN4SEA Initiative Award,
