FastRig easy retrofit wingsail starts on-land testing

Diane Gilpin, founder and CEO of Smart Green Shipping, readies for raising of FastRig for on-land testing at Hunterston PAC.

With an increasing number of vessel owners and charterers seeing wind assisted propulsion as a way to cut emissions, FastRig, a wingsail solution that’s been specifically designed for easy retrofitting to existing ships, has passed a major milestone. U.K.-based Smart Green Shipping, the developer of the wingsail, today commenced on-land testing of the solution at Hunterston PARC in Scotland.

FastRig has been developed collaboratively with input from ship owners and cargo owners. With the financial support of MOL Dry Bulk, Scottish Enterprise and private investors, the first FastRig has been raised at Hunterston PARC in Scotland, a former coal port now being developed for multiple blue economy purposes.

Smart Green Shipping collaborated with naval architects Humphreys Yacht Design, which drew on its 50 years of experience to develop the design of FastRig. Argo Engineering was responsible for translating the high performance design into practical, affordable construction engineering. FastRig will undergo its on-land tests at Hunterston PARC in Scotland before commencing on-ship trials later this year.

“Over the past year, wind power has finally become a key part of the emission reduction conversation in the shipping industry as the need to decarbonize to remain compliant is embraced,” said Diane Gilpin, founder and CEO of Smart Green Shipping. ”Wind is the obvious solution – it’s abundant, freely and exclusively available to any ship equipped to harness it.”

Gilpin is an ardent climate activist who believes the climate emergency can be addressed by technology and innovation where she has worked for more than 30 years. She was part of the Cellnet team that launched the first cellular telephone in the U.K., and was the only woman to manage an F3 team and went on to manage an offshore yacht racing team in the BT Global Challenge. She holds a number of positions within shipping industry bodies including the Clean Maritime Council, the EU Waterborne Transport Platform and delivered a speech on behalf of the International Chamber of Shipping at the Paris Climate Conference.

“This next phase for FastRig, where it undergoes extensive on-land testing, is crucial to not only ensure its safety and reliability, but allows seafarers and shipowners the chance to actually get up close, give it a go and feed in to our ongoing design development,” said Gilpin. “Seeing this 20 meter test and demonstration FastRig raised for the first time represents the culmination of a lot of hard work across the entire shipping ecosystem, and I couldn’t be prouder of the whole ‘Winds of Change’ community who have supported us on our journey. But this is just the beginning: we’re developing larger FastRigs, integrated weather routing software and frictionless wind-as-a-service offerings for our customers.”

FastRigs are extremely lightweight to make them quick and easy to install and uninstall. According to Smart Green Shipping “they don’t need invasive retrofit procedures that steal space from cargo holds and reduce payloads. They retract in light winds to avoid creating additional wind resistance that would require more engine power, meaning they require less fuel. The wing sails also retract in heavy weather to improve safety, to maneuver in and out of ports, navigate under bridges and when loading and discharging cargoes. Digitally-enabled FastRigs ‘know’ when they have to get out of the way.

In 2018/19 a collaborative feasibility study that measured emissions saved by FastRigs on a panamax on its usual route and normal operating speed predicted the wingsail would save up to 20% emissions per annum. This analysis was undertaken with the University of Southampton. The most recent FastRig design has been shown to reduce emissions by another 10%. The next few months will see Smart Green Shipping perform on-land testing of the rig to assess key safety, operational, technical and mechanical systems, in collaboration with project partners. From April onwards, Smart Green Shipping will be hosting visitors at the test site in Hunterston, Scotland, to see FastRig in action.