A tanker normally used to ship nuclear waste around the world is testing a new aluminium sail that could dramatically cut the fuel consumption and climate impact of ocean tankers.
The Pacific Grebe is spending three weeks in October travelling around the coast of the UK testing the FastRig, a 20-metre-tall sail designed to help propel large tankers across the high seas.
The retractable, blade-like sail weighs about 35 tonnes and can be unfurled in winds up to 64 kilometres per hour, according to its UK-based creators . The start-up has chartered Pacific Grebe from its owner 鈥� Nuclear Transport Solutions, part of the UK government鈥檚 Nuclear Decommissioning Authority 鈥� for the sea trials.
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The sail is designed to be used on tankers carrying unpackaged commodities such as grains and fuel, says Di Gilpin at Smart Green Shipping, speaking to 快猫短视频 while the ship was docked in Southampton this week. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like an aircraft wing, but it鈥檚 also a bit like a wind turbine blade,鈥� she says.
The sea trials are part of a 拢4.5 million, three-year project to test the FastRig technology and collect enough performance data to convince ship owners to back the idea. Initial calculations by the company suggest the technology could reduce a ship鈥檚 annual fuel consumption by up to 30 per cent.
at the University of Southampton is part of the academic team coordinating the controlled sea trials, to assess how the ship performs in different conditions. He says the tests, which will take place in the English Channel and the Irish Sea, will help researchers 鈥渦nderstand how the wing sail changes the performance of the ship鈥� and therefore impacts听fuel use.
In 2022, the global shipping industry was responsible for around 鈥� more than the aviation sector. It has been slow to cut emissions, but is now facing increasing pressure, both from and its supply chain, to take action.
The Pacific Grebe鈥檚 set-up is a pilot version. A full commercial installation of FastRig would see multiple sails 鈥� each 34 metres tall 鈥� fitted to the port and starboard side of ships, says Gilpin. If the trials prove a success, energy company Drax has said it will consider installing the sails on a commercial vessel that ships biomass pellets.
There are tens of thousands of dry bulk and tanker ships in the global fleet. But not all will be suitable for a FastRig, due to their deck design. Heavy cargo may also pose a problem, as it could damage the sail during loading and unloading, industry experts warn.
The FastRig scheme is being funded by the UK government, as part of its wider push to ensure the UK is first to market with greener shipping technologies. It is not the only attempt to add sails to cargo ships. In 2023 the Pyxis Ocean, a dry bulk ship chartered by agricultural giant Cargill, set sail fitted with two 37.5-metre sails. In March of this year, Cargill said these WindWings were cutting Pyxis Ocean鈥檚 annual CO2 emissions . Under the best conditions, they cut emissions by 37 per cent, the company said.
