Becker shows Midas touch with Mewis Duct

In fact, Becker has already sold 804 of the highly efficient nozzle and expects to pass the 1,000 mark around August 2015. To date some 60% of deliveries have been for newbuilds and 40% for retrofitting.

“All of the nozzles delivered thus far have already been able to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 900,000 tonnes,” said Becker Marine Systems md Dirk Lehmann. In this respect the product fits neatly with what he called a major focus of this year’s SMM – “favorably priced and green systems that lead to lower operating costs ands reduced energy consumption.”

Like 90% of current Mewis Duct production, the 750^th unit was built by a supplier company in Spain. To keep pace with demand, Becker opened its own factory in Zhenjiang, China in December 2013, thereby cutting delivery time to Far East yards in half to roughly six weeks for the remaining 10% of output.

After SMM the gold-painted unit will be sand-blasted, re-coated with standard primer and delivered to a Chinese yard to be fitted to a 6-metre propeller on a 38,000 dwt bulk carrier newbuilding. Shipping is expected to take place on a 40ft flat rack mounted atop a container on a Hanjin Shipping vessel.

Separately, Becker announced at the show that it had booked six new orders for its patented Becker twisted fins, a similar energy-saving device more applicable to containerships and certain multipurpose vessels while Mewis Ducts are fitted largely to bulkers and tankers.