Wind power being used for commercial shipping

[OVERKILL]

Nuke would only be viable if a separate generator ship followed across ocean and did not follow into port. Then battery or other power source (generator) to enter any non developing countries ports.

Or, if there were some international regulation changes to allow entry. Sevmorput doesn't have this problem because it's only moving containers from one part of Russia to Siberia, but, IIRC, NS Savannah did have this issue, not being permitted into certain ports.

But that's only one half of the problem, the other half is ensuring the security of the vessel. As was discussed in another thread, large shipping companies don't typically have armed security detail to deal with pirates for liability reasons and port entry issues. If you were to fit a vessel like the Triple-E with a nuclear power plant, even if it didn't run on HEU, you'd need a portion of the crew to be former navy nukes, and the vessel would have to have armed security (these could be the same folks). I still expect that to be cheaper than the fuel costs for a traditional vessel, but it's a significant set of obstacles to implementation.

I know there is discussion ongoing about this. I suspect if a test vessel is created, it will only run a specific route, with ports that are OK with this arrangement.

 

[oil pan 4]

Guessing they're going to use the sail when the wind is blowing less than about 90 degrees of the same direction they're going. Then when traveling with a head wind the sails stay inactive.

 

[andyd]

Astro 14, For a good book on the last of the windjammers read Alan Villiers' : Falmouth for Orders

 

[Driz]

I simply shake my head! Chicken Little still is running amok

 

[PimTac]

Unless I missed something these are not actual wind sails. The name might be misleading. I think these capture wind and use that energy to run electric motors that can assist the main engines. If the wind power is sufficient the bridge can reduce speed on the mains and allow the electric propulsion to fill that gap.

In the original comment the article talks about the Mitsubishi version. Another company is Norsepower out of Finland. There seems to be different variations.

Norsepower main page - Norsepower Rotor Sails™ | Wind Propulsion

Bringing sails back to shipping Enter Norsepower Rotor Sails™ for your fleet Enter Global, hard-working hero team Enter Save fuel – and the planet Enter 16 Norsepower Rotor Sails™ installed since 2014 Enter 100 000+ hours of 3rd-party verified performance data Enter Global leader in auxiliary...

www.norsepower.com

 

[y_p_w]

Unless I missed something these are not actual wind sails. The name might be misleading. I think these capture wind and use that energy to run electric motors that can assist the main engines. If the wind power is sufficient the bridge can reduce speed on the mains and allow the electric propulsion to fill that gap.

In the original comment the article talks about the Mitsubishi version. Another company is Norsepower out of Finland. There seems to be different variations.

Norsepower main page - Norsepower Rotor Sails™ | Wind Propulsion

Bringing sails back to shipping Enter Norsepower Rotor Sails™ for your fleet Enter Global, hard-working hero team Enter Save fuel – and the planet Enter 16 Norsepower Rotor Sails™ installed since 2014 Enter 100 000+ hours of 3rd-party verified performance data Enter Global leader in auxiliary...

www.norsepower.com

WindWings are sails. Here’s another shipping operator that says they’re employing this tech.

Berge Bulk WindWings Technology Onboard

www.bergebulk.com

WindWings operate based on Bernouli’s principle, the same effect that allows commercial aircraft to fly. As wind blows across the vessel deck, the wings will automatically position themselves to generate lift in the direction of vessel movement.​

​

The result is a reduction in mechanical power demand on the main engine, and a corresponding reduction in main engine fuel consumption. Our WindWings are built by BAR Technologies, which have designed the ultra-high performance sail systems used by TeamUK in America’s Cup championship yacht racing.​

 

[Cujet]

I'm going to call "nonsense" on supplemental wind power for large container/tanker ships. Wind power can easily be calculated in HP available. There is a reason we moved from large sailing ships to even rudimentary and inefficient coal/steam power. Not only are they slow due to lack of real world power, but the power source is so intermittent, it makes for great difficulty.

Being able to fly a huge spinnaker or wind turbine, is of no significant benefit during no wind conditions, or when the wind direction is unfavorable. Which is most of the time.

 

[PimTac]

I'm going to call "nonsense" on supplemental wind power for large container/tanker ships. Wind power can easily be calculated in HP available. There is a reason we moved from large sailing ships to even rudimentary and inefficient coal/steam power. Not only are they slow due to lack of real world power, but the power source is so intermittent, it makes for great difficulty.

Being able to fly a huge spinnaker or wind turbine, is of no significant benefit during no wind conditions, or when the wind direction is unfavorable. Which is most of the time.

I think this is just another option for ships. Most of the time there is wind on the open sea. What we don’t know is how much wind speed in knots is needed before the system is worth engaging. On the other spectrum there may be a limit if the wind gets too high. Then the ROI for the system has to be factored in.

The more popular propulsion I keep reading about is a hybrid system where the main engines are actually generators. Those generators can power electric pods that replace the traditional screws, shafts and rudders. A battery array on board can keep the ship powered up in port to reduce emissions.

 

[PandaBear]

Guessing they're going to use the sail when the wind is blowing less than about 90 degrees of the same direction they're going. Then when traveling with a head wind the sails stay inactive.

If they are setup as "generator" by swapping the blade's orientation to a turbine shape, a perpendicular wind can be used to power the ship going 90 deg but not headwind, that can make the angle close to 180 deg in theory. Still the cost has to factor in complication of the ship and possible malfunction that can cause the ship to be blown backward, so you don't want something too complicated.

 

[wpod]

That seems slow, the Maersk Triple-E monsters have a designed cruise speed of 19-knots (which is considered slow):

Triple E-class container ship - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The nuke-powered aircraft carriers can do over 30 knots and are fuelled for 20-25 year service.

Those are run with the taxpayers footing the bills.

 

[y_p_w]

That seems slow, the Maersk Triple-E monsters have a designed cruise speed of 19-knots (which is considered slow):

Triple E-class container ship - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Speed is traded off for efficiency. The amount of fuel needed goes up exponentially with speed. So there are going to be tradeoffs.

 

[OVERKILL]

Speed is traded off for efficiency. The amount of fuel needed goes up exponentially with speed. So there are going to be tradeoffs.

Unless it's powered by a nuke, then it doesn't matter

But, I was surprised to hear it was slower than the Triple-E, which is all about efficiency and already considered slow.