Pushing the boat out

“Why didn’t I think of that?” You may well ask. After all, it is a simple premise – huge 20-metre wings that propel cargo ships and reduce carbon emissions. When bolted to a vessel’s decks and sitting upright, the wing, called FastRig, will act as a sail harnessing the power of wind.

Smart Green Shipping (SGS), the company that has developed the device, and some of the world’s leading shipowners are convinced that it can provide clean power to supplement ships’ engines.

Diane Gilpin, the Chief Executive of Smart Green Shipping which developed the wing-sail, said she started thinking about using wind on ships back in 1998, after a career at Formula One and in yacht racing.

Gilpin said: “We need alternative fuels to support global shipping’s transition to zero-emissions, but quality, energy density, availability and cost of these fuels is unknown. There is a simple solution – and that’s wind.

“The sail on the ship will be subject to a whole month of trials. But this is not a typical ship we would be installing the sail on; we will be looking at dry bulkers and tankers.

“These types of ships carry commodities such as wood, pellets, liquids, fossil fuels, and more. They have a flat deck, so by installing the sail on a vessel like that means you can harness the wind.”

Alexandra Herdman, Logistics UK Senior Policy Manager said: “With shipping being a difficult sector to decarbonise, and with no clear green fuel currently identified for the industry to use in the future, innovation such as the FastRig is a welcome method of reducing emissions.

“Not only can the FastRig reduce fuel consumption, but it was built and tested right here on the Clyde, where world class ship building is steeped into its history.”

SGS, a start-up company, expects the system to be attractive to owners of ships and, potentially, to companies hiring them long term. The wings could be bolted to the deck of the ship temporarily, for the duration of a charter.

The company expects to be able to cut ships’ fuel consumption by as much as 30% – more than some of the other wind-propulsion technologies being developed.

Next month: Smart Green Shipping’s CEO Di Gilpin take The Green Miles 9 Below Zero challenge.

More from The Green Miles: Japan’s colossal cargo conveyor belt system.