South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has received an approval in principle (AiP) for a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) ‘eco-tanker’ design, capable of using a combination of volatile organic compounds (VOC) mixed with LNG as fuel and Norsepower’s rotor sail solution for wind-assisted propulsion.
Lloyd’s Register provided HHI with an AiP on the sidelines of Nor-Shipping 2019 in Oslo, Norway, underway this week.
This development was the result of a joint development project (JDP) collaboration between HHI, LR and Norsepower.
The VOC recovery system was developed by HHI and will allow the VLCC to use fuel produced from naturally-occurring vapor from the cargo tank during operation.
The impact of the installation of Norsepower’s rotor sail solution, such as structural reinforcement and visibility calculation, was reviewed using computational-fluid dynamics (CFD) during the JDP and it was confirmed that it has the potential of providing 5-7% fuel savings, dependent on operating routes, LR said.
This AiP demonstrates the potential for reducing emissions in ship designs, by combining VOC recovery and LNG in a dual-fuel system with the addition of rotor sails, to help the shipping industry address the challenge of reducing GHG emissions by 2050.
We are optimistic that support from these industry leading organisations will open up the market for our rotor sail technology to a larger number of VLCCs – propelling towards a modern era of auxiliary wind propulsion for the global maritime industry, while supporting shipping’s transition to decarbonisation and achieving greater ship fuel efficiencies. Wind is one of the most freely available energy sources making wind-assisted propulsion viable in supporting the shipping industry to reduce its fuel consumption and meet impending carbon reduction targets,
…Jukka Kuuskoski, CSO of Norsepower, said.
