VIDEO: Cargill-chartered NYK Group bulker retrofitted with VentoFoil suction sails
Written by Nick Blenkey
Two VentoFoil sction sails were installed on NB Magritte in the Port of Rotterdam. [Photo: NYK Line]
Hard sails, rotor sails, suction sails: wind assisted propulsion solutions are now getting the attention of serious players, notably major charterers— including Vale, Trafigura and Cargill. Back in July last year Japan’s NYK Line reported that its Antwerp, Belgium, based NYK Bulkship (Atlantic) N.V. subsidiary was to retrofit a Cargill-chartered bulk carrier with two VentoFoil suction sails. The retrofit was completed earlier this month in the Port of Rotterdam and the NBA Magritte has now become the first vessel in the NYK Group fleet to be fitted with a unit of this type.
Developed by Netherlands-based Econowind B.V., each VentoFoil sits on a 20-foot-long (approximately 6-meter) flat rack container with no walls and has a 16-meter vertical sail. Like an airplane wing, VentoFoil creates propulsion with the pressure difference on both sides of the wing. The unit takes in wind through a suction port and obtains greater propulsion by amplifying the pressure difference. VentoFoil is smaller than similar equipment, keeping it more out of the way of cargo handling. It is also easy to install and relocate.
With the NBA Margritte now at sea with the suction sails installed, NYK Bulkship Atlantic will collect data on the propulsion generated, along with data and meteorological and ocean conditions during navigation, in collaboration with Cargill and NYK’s R&D subsidiary MTI Co., Ltd.
This initiative is part of NYK’s long-term target of net-zero emissions of GHGs by 2050 for the NYK Group’s oceangoing businesses. The NYK Group will utilize the knowledge gained in this research and development to promote initiatives related to various energy-saving technologies, including the use of wind power.
