The world’s first hybrid wind and fuel chemical tanker sets sail from Rotterdam

rotterdam — The world’s first chemical tanker ship with giant rigid aluminum “sails” has left Rotterdam. Shipowners want to chart routes that reduce the shipping industry’s huge carbon footprint. The approximately 18,000-ton chemical carrier MT Chemical Challenger will set sail from Antwerp for Istanbul on Friday, undergoing sea trials along the way.

Built in Japan and equipped with four giant 52-foot, 6-inch sails that resemble aircraft wings, the tanker’s owner says the sails allow the captain to throttle the engine’s revs, reducing fuel consumption. We hope to reduce this by 10-20%.

“As an avid sailor myself, I have been thinking for a long time about how we can make our industry more sustainable,” said Niels of Chemship, which operates a fleet of chemical tankers primarily between U.S. ports in the Gulf.・CEO Grotz said: Mexico and the eastern Mediterranean.

“Today we launched our first wind-assisted chemical tanker and we hope that it will become a model for the world,” Grotz told AFP at the vessel’s unveiling ceremony.

Global shipping, which burns diesel and other bunker fuels, contributed about 2% of global carbon emissions in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency.

New guidelines from the International Maritime Organization say shipping emissions need to be cut by at least 40% by 2030 and to zero by around 2050 to meet targets set by the Paris Climate Agreement. .

“The shipping industry has always been very competitive, so achieving these goals will be difficult,” Glotz acknowledged, adding that the company was unlikely to “make money” on its latest project.

“But we have to reduce our CO2 emissions, and we decided we’re not going to sit back and wait for something magical to happen.”

“The sails on this ship are expected to save approximately 937 tons per year.” [of carbon]. “This equates to a production capacity of approximately 500 cars per year,” Chemship added in a statement.

Grotz said the project to install sails on one of his company’s chemical tankers (other ships will follow) began three years ago when he and Dutch company Econowind, a company that specializes in building wind propulsion systems for ships, began working together. ) leaders said that it was born when they first exchanged opinions. .

Installation of the four sails was completed last week while the Chemical Challenger lay on the docks in Rotterdam’s vast harbor. Each sail can be raised from a horizontal resting position on board and angled to catch the wind as needed.

Although not the first modern ship to have a stiff sail (for example, last year Britain’s Cargill sent a wind-assisted cargo ship to sea), ChemShip is proud to say that its Chemical Challenger is the world’s first sailing vessel. He said that it was a chemical tanker ship.

Structured to resemble an airplane wing, the rigid aluminum sail is equipped with a system of vents and holes to maximize airflow in winds up to approximately 38 miles per hour.

“This system, called a ‘ventilated wing sail,’ increases wind power by a factor of five, giving it the same power as a hypothetical sail approximately 30 by 30 meters (nearly 100 by 100 feet),” says Econowind. Sales Manager Rence Groot said.

Groot told AFP that modern hard sails on giant ships harken back to a time when sailing was the only way to cross the ocean. Ship sails are also reviving long-forgotten routes, which fell out of favor as steam and fuel were replaced by wind power.

Groot said, referring to the route around the Cape of Good Hope first pioneered by Dutch explorer Hendrik Brouwer around 1611, saying, “Once again, the modern ‘sailor’ will have to seek the wind. For example, the Brouwer Passage. along the lines,” he said.

The route crosses the Indian Ocean into the so-called Roaring 40s, before meandering north again along Australia’s west coast toward Asia. A few years later, he was employed by the Dutch East India Company and was required to serve as a captain heading to the Dutch colony in what is now Indonesia.

“We’re trying to find a way to bring nature back into technology,” Groot said. “Suddenly you can feel the ship sailing again, just like it used to be.”