SAFETY4SEA is pleased to announce that International Windship Association (IWSA) has received the 2019 GREEN4SEA Initiative Award, sponsored by Capital Ship Management, at a prestigious award ceremony which successfully concluded on March, 12th at Yacht Club of Greece in Athens, the evening ahead of the 2019 GREEN4SEA Conference.
IWSA received the award for taking many initiatives for introducing modern wind propulsion as a clean solution for ships. Recently, the first installations of wind propulsion devices by Viking Lines and Maersk Tankers have begun to operate on vessels, showing the great importance and potential wind propulsion is given by the shipping industry. Other short-listed nominees for this category were: BEMA, EGCSA, probunkers and Sustainable Shipping Initiative
Presenting the award Mr. Stavros Meidanis, DPA/CSO, Safety & Quality Manager, Capital Ship Management, said “Wind propulsion technology for ships will steadily begin in March 2020 and is estimated to adapt around 3.700 to 10.700 systems until 2030 including both retrofits, installations in newbuildings.
Accepting the award on behalf of IWSA, Mr. Gavin Allwright, Secretary General, stated “We all face the immense challenge of rapidly decarbonising shipping and technology that can deliver 5-20%, possibly 30% fuel savings as retrofit options and 30% upwards for new optimised vessels can’t be ignored – the issue is not why, but when and how we will install wind solutions. Inspiring ideas are only as good as their delivery and that is what IWSA is all about.”
The International Windship Association (IWSA) plays an important role at promoting wind propulsion within the industry and the impacts it has on making shipping cleaner. Recently, the first installations of wind propulsion have begun to operate on vessels of Viking Lines and Maersk Tankers, showing the great importance and potential wind propulsion is given by the shipping industry. Already, six vessels with 14 rotors installed by Norsepower, Anemoi and MariGreen are on operation. In the last 12 months, seatrials and technology development partnerships for hard-sail, soft-sail, kite and suction wing/ventifoil technologies are on the increase. The IWSA was also initiator and co-organizer of the Shipping Ambition 1.5C Event, a unique one-of-a-kind maritime stakeholder event held in Bonn during COP23, where industry stakeholders held discussions on fighting climate change. IWSA has helped introducing modern wind propulsion as a commonly known element into the culture of contemporary clean propulsion solutions for ships and represents a strong voice in the industry, counting many members so far. During 2018, the first regional IWSA clusters were incepted in France, in the North Sea and Baltic area with Germany and the Netherlands, all showing a great determination of the members to collaborate also on a regional level. Furthermore, hubs in Asia, North America & Oceania are due within 2019.
IWSA attracted the most votes by the end of the voting period which held online during a two-month period. GREEN4SEA Awards are held annually within the scope of awarding industry’s outstanding practices for green shipping excellence, technology, initiative, clean shipping practices, green ports and personalities that are leading the path toward a more sustainable future. Other winners of the 2019 GREEN4SEA Awards are: Blue Planet Shipping Ltd for the Dry Bulk Operator Award, Navigator Gas LLC for the Tanker Operator Award, MAN Energy Solutions for the Technology Award, Clean Shipping Alliance 2020 (CSA 2020) for the Clean Shipping Award, Port of Valencia for the Port Award, Mr. Panos Zachariadis, Atlantic Bulk Carriers for the Personality Award and Mr. George Tsavliris, CYMEPA for the Leadership Award.
Find photos from the awards ceremony at Flickr and explore more about the nomination & voting procedure and the winners of 2019 GREEEN4SEA Awards at https://events.safety4sea.com/2019-green4sea-awards/
