High oil price puts wind back in a ship's sail

Australian
22/01/2008 Page: 22

THE global shipping industry will be watching closely this week as the MV Beluga SkySails becomes the first modern cargo ship to set sail on a journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The return of wind power to the shipping industry, albeit a hi-tech 21st-century version, was due, largely, to the near-doubling of the oil price to almost $US100 a barrel over the past year, eating into the profits of many shipping companies. But there was also growing pressure on the industry to reduce the pollution it had pumped into the atmosphere.

The first long voyage test of the system, called SkySails, would begin today, when the 10,000-tonne Beluga loaded its cargo of heavy manufacturing equipment in Bremen, Germany, and set out on a 14-day voyage to Venezuela. It was also planning to deploy SkySail on its return trip to Europe. Verena Frank, spokeswoman for German cargo-shipper Beluga Group, said she expected savings of between 10 and 20 per cent in fuel consumption, worth about $US2000 ($2280) per sailing day at current prices. The sail system, which costs about 500,0000 ($832,000), should pay for itself within three to five years, she said.

A SkySail looked very different from the sheets of canvas and tall wooden masts that propelled Christopher Columbus to the Americas across the Atlantic more than 500 years ago. It resembled the canopy of a paraglider and flew high above a ship at the end of a long cable. Where the pilot of a paraglider would sit is a hi-tech control pod connected to a computerised autopilot that could perform sophisticated manoeuvres to maximise the capture of wind power. SkySail's automatic launch system deployed the sail in less than 20 minutes.

While the great merchant clippers of the 19th century would have taken 40 crew members to unfurl and tend sails during a voyage, Stephan Wrage, chief executive of SkySails AG (and designer of the system), said it required no additional personnel and only a few days training for an existing crew. He said that because the SkySail flew between 100 and 300 metres above the surface, where winds were stronger and more stable, it was more effective at capturing wind power than a traditional sail.

A single 800sqm SkySail could achieve the same propulsion as a traditional four-malted ship with 3000sqm of sail. Mr Wrage said these factors should enable the SkySail, which operated in tandem with the ship's engines, to produce about 50 per cent of the thrust a ship needed. Even allowing for less-than-perfect wind conditions, annual fuel and emissions savings of between 10 per cent and 35 per cent should be achievable, he said. It was this combination of economic and environmental benefits that had brought Beluga Shipping into the project, Ms Frank said.

Rising crude-oil prices had driven the price of most marine fuels up fourfold since 2002, a cost some ship owners had struggled to pass on to customers. "High fuel prices aren't making running ships unprofitable, but yes, it's eating into profit margins," said Bill Box, spokesman for the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners, or Intertanko. But despite this, SkySails was by no means a surefire winner.

"Ship owners are very conservative and unless something is put down as a rule or regulation they are unlikely to put any effort into being innovative," said Kamar Zaman, director of technical services at London based maritime consultancy Drewry. The SkySail system was not suitable for the biggest container ships or tankers, because they travelled too fast, but Mr Wrage said about 60,000 ships worldwide were suitable. "Our plans are to equip 1500 ships by 2015," he said.