gcarter
06-26-2007, 08:52 PM
A new design can significantly improve ships' performance and cut their fuel consumption
A new Danish design enhancement will soon make ocean-going ships cheaper to operate while also making them more environmentally friendly, reported Berlingske Tidende newspaper Monday.
The design, called the Air Cavity System, was inspired by the inventor’s work fine-tuning jet skis in the US, and has already caught the attention of the industry, which has invested EUR 20 million in the project.
ACS blows compressed air underneath a ship into a large, flat cavity in the hull, creating an air stream that it rides on through the water. This allows the vessel to move more smoothly and quickly by keeping more of its mass above the water.
Initial tests of ACS have shown the new design can reduce fuel consumption by 15 percent. Winkler said the invention makes it worthwhile for shippers to now invest in more environmentally friendly shipping.
'The rise in oil prices has led to a serious interest in this technology - and a willingness to change,' said Winkler. 'In the past it has cost the industry money to be considerate toward the environment. This system can actually make it worthwhile financially.'
Hans Henrik Petersen, manager of The Danish Shipowners' Association's nautical department, said the industry would look closely at the new design.
'Any savings of over 10 percent are beneficial, and if their calculations of up to 15 percent are accurate, then it will be very interesting for shippers.'
Jørn Winkler, the inventor and former helicopter pilot who came up with the ACS design, said ACS was a way to apply aviation industry to the maritime industry.
'In aviation we're much more concerned with how to do things tomorrow whereas in the shipping industry they're more interested in how things were done yesterday,' he said. 'ACS has the potential to revolutionise the maritime industry. Under any circumstances, the design can put focus on making shipping more effective and maximising capacity.'
The new design would help relieve the environment of the nearly 1.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide release for which the shipping industry is responsible. That figure is over twice that of the airline industry and, according to oil company BP, represents four percent of the world's total CO2 pollution.
A new Danish design enhancement will soon make ocean-going ships cheaper to operate while also making them more environmentally friendly, reported Berlingske Tidende newspaper Monday.
The design, called the Air Cavity System, was inspired by the inventor’s work fine-tuning jet skis in the US, and has already caught the attention of the industry, which has invested EUR 20 million in the project.
ACS blows compressed air underneath a ship into a large, flat cavity in the hull, creating an air stream that it rides on through the water. This allows the vessel to move more smoothly and quickly by keeping more of its mass above the water.
Initial tests of ACS have shown the new design can reduce fuel consumption by 15 percent. Winkler said the invention makes it worthwhile for shippers to now invest in more environmentally friendly shipping.
'The rise in oil prices has led to a serious interest in this technology - and a willingness to change,' said Winkler. 'In the past it has cost the industry money to be considerate toward the environment. This system can actually make it worthwhile financially.'
Hans Henrik Petersen, manager of The Danish Shipowners' Association's nautical department, said the industry would look closely at the new design.
'Any savings of over 10 percent are beneficial, and if their calculations of up to 15 percent are accurate, then it will be very interesting for shippers.'
Jørn Winkler, the inventor and former helicopter pilot who came up with the ACS design, said ACS was a way to apply aviation industry to the maritime industry.
'In aviation we're much more concerned with how to do things tomorrow whereas in the shipping industry they're more interested in how things were done yesterday,' he said. 'ACS has the potential to revolutionise the maritime industry. Under any circumstances, the design can put focus on making shipping more effective and maximising capacity.'
The new design would help relieve the environment of the nearly 1.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide release for which the shipping industry is responsible. That figure is over twice that of the airline industry and, according to oil company BP, represents four percent of the world's total CO2 pollution.