Dutch ship design company AURELIA, has joined forces with naval architecture designer NEPA SHIPPING, and ALOFT SYSTEMS, experts in sails and weather routing , on a green retrofitting project involving a 205,000 dwt bulk carrier.
The project set out to demonstrate how a combination of innovative solutions and smart decisions can be used to reduce GHG emissions, while still maintaining the safety and efficiency of the vessel. The goal was to make the Newcastlemax vessel compliant with the CII index having category D/C in the upcoming three years.
AURELIA provided a solution overview to comply with the EEXI and CII index based on 5 annual sailings between Brazil and China.
The retrofit plan, which will cost around $10 million, includes the installation of solar panels, batteries, and the SafePlan software developed by Hydrographic and Marine Consultants (HMC) BV. The SafePlan software will optimize the vessel’s route, while the solar panels and batteries will help reduce the hours of functioning of the auxiliary engines.
The first investment, which should be completed by 2023, is set to reduce the vessel’s CO2 emissions by 6.1%, and fuel costs by 12.5%, equaling to a total of 3,305 tons of CO2-reduction and $ 1,287,900.00 per year in savings respectively.
Under the plan, the sails will be installed on the main deck between/aside the hatches to avoid shadows on the solar panels. It is strongly recommended to optimize the route of the vessel, especially for large distances, to take as much wind as possible to support the propulsion of the ship.
The second investment, scheduled for 2025, is aimed at further reducing emissions and fuel costs. This will include the installation of 6 rigid sails 30m in height, as well as the switch from fossil to biofuels. With this investment, the CO2 emissions will be reduced by 10.3%, and fuel costs by 16.3%. This would equate to 5,560 tons of CO2-reduction and USD 1,686,720.00 per year in savings, according to AURELIA.