French maritime company Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) Group is the latest member of the International Windship Association (IWSA) to assist on the development of renewable solutions. As the firm commented ‘The need to reduce fuel costs and future proof vessels in preparation for decarbonization costs is growing and the embrace of technology solutions that can deliver double digit savings for retrofit installations and significantly higher savings for optimised new builds makes a lot of sense.’
Specifically, in light of this event, Edouard Louis-Dreyfus, LDA President commented
We are very excited by the development of wind solutions as a key answer to the decarbonisation challenges we are facing today and it is only natural for us to join the International Windship Association in its drive to further develop these technologies.
LDA Group charters and operates more than 100 vessels worldwide and along with their customer, Airbus, has been searching for new solutions on how to significantly decrease emissions.
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After testing Airsea, the positive results led the firm to the decision to have one permanently fitted on board the 21,500 ton MV Ville de Bordeaux from 2020 onwards, a RoRo cargo vessel dedicated to the transport of Airbus parts around Europe.
Gavin Allwright, IWSA Secretary General added
Wind-assist and primary wind propulsion is increasingly being viewed as a credible, viable and economic option and we look forward to working with the LDA team to further the uptake of 21st century wind propulsion solutions for the commercial fleet.
LDA concluded that wind assist and wind propulsion provide a fruitful way on reducing the amount of power needed by vessels in many routes.
