The chemical tanker “Bow Olympus” from Norwegian shipping company Odfjell has completed its first voyages across the Atlantic since being retrofitted.
The ship is powered by biofuel and modern sails, which saves over 5 tons of fuel per day. The CO2 emissions are significantly lower – the result surprises even the shipping company itself.
As real-time data from the voyage shows, the dual propulsion approach is not only technically feasible, but also effective. Odfjell announced that the emissions of the “Bow Olympus” meet the EU’s climate targets for maritime fuels by 2050. The achievement of the IMO’s GFI Direct Compliance targets is also ensured by 2044.
By running on biofuel and sails, the ship’s greenhouse gas intensity has been reduced by 85%. The modern, 22m high “eSails” from Spanish company Bound4Blue were used in a variety of weather conditions, with performance monitored by the crew and Odfjell’s technology team both on board and ashore. The sails were installed just a few weeks ago and were completed within two days.
“Exceeding expectations”
“The results have exceeded our expectations,” said Erik Hjortland, Vice President Technoloy at Odfjell. “Even in good, but not perfect wind conditions, we have seen an energy saving effect of 15-20%. This corresponds to a saving of 5 tons of fuel per day and thus a reduction in CO₂ emissions of 15 tons per day. On certain sections of the current journey, we have seen a reduction in fuel consumption of up to 40%. These are very promising figures. We are very pleased that our original calculations have been confirmed and even exceeded.”
By using a new type of AI-based weather routing system, the five-year-old 49,000-dwt ship was able to make optimum use of the prevailing wind conditions.
“One surprising finding is that even light winds of up to 15 degrees at the bow produce a noticeable effect,” says Hjortland. “This means that we can probably use the sails more often than expected, which has a positive effect on the already good return on investment. The sails also offer stabilizing and roll damping effects. Based on current data, we anticipate that the sails will also lead to significant fuel savings on future ocean voyages in all basins.”
The biofuel bunkered on the “Bow Oylmpus” has also helped the shipping company to approach its declared net-zero target. It was made from “certified sustainable waste materials”, Odfjell announced; the certification body has been accredited by both the IMO and the EU.
Odfjell plans to reduce CO2 by 57
Over the last ten years, Odfjell has installed more than 140 energy-saving devices on its ships, reducing CO2 intensity by more than 53% compared to the 2008 IMO baseline, the shipping company announced. Now that most conventional modernizations have been exhausted, the Norwegians are focusing on new solutions such as WAPS (Wind Assisted Propulsion Systems) in order to achieve its goal of a 57% reductions in CO2 by 2030. A fuel changeover is also “essential” for this, they say. However, all options are still open in this respect, as the “fuel of the future” is still uncertain. The choice of biofuel for the crossing served to demonstrate a possible approach.
“We will now analyze the data, evaluate the lessons learned and use the experience as a basis for our next steps,” concludes Hjortland. “There are still unknown variables that need to be clarified, such as the effects of different weather conditions, trade routes, ship configurations, etc. Nevertheless, I am confident that we have set a credible course towards climate neutrality.”
