Dutch owner to retrofit vessel with wind propulsion system

The vessel, MV Tharsis, will be fitted with two wind-assist TwinFoil units at NG Shipyards.

“We always try to use as little as fuel as possible on our weekly voyage from Duisburg to the East coast of the UK, using currents and tides and optimising our schedule. Adding wind-assisted propulsion will further reduce our fuel consumption,” said Jan Albert Bosma, co-owner of Tharsis Sea-River Shipping.

The eConowind-units are both integrated in a specially designed aluminum Flatrack from which the folding TwinFoil’s can be deployed. The TwinFoil is a further innovation for eConowind next to their previously designed VentiFoils.

The TwinFoil is a wing with a flap principle similar to those used by aircraft during landing and take-off. Setting the wings optimally relative to the wind will be done by a small third steering-wing.

The Netherlands-based NG Shipyards will install the system to ensure that the total weight stays under 2,500 kg as needed for the operations on the vessel.

Bosma added: “We look forward to evaluating the wings and do research together in the Wind Assisted Ship Propulsion (WASP) project, part of the EU Interreg North Sea region program.”

The WASP project is funded by the Interreg North Sea Europe program, part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and brings together universities and wind-assist technology providers with ship owners to install, research, trial and validate the operational performance of a selection of wind propulsion solutions.

The latest project for Tharsis Sea-River Shipping will be the last of five installations under the WASP project, and it is scheduled for February 2021.

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