OceanWings awarded AiP for wind-assisted propulsion system  

French propulsion technology specialist OceanWings was awarded an approval in principle (AiP) by ABS for its wind-assisted propulsion (WAP) system during a ceremony on 4 December at Riviera’s Maritime Decarbonization Conference, Americas 2024 in Houston.

On hand for the presentation were OceanWings chief executive Emmanuel Schalit and chief operating officer Romain Grandsart, ABS vice president, North America business development Roy Bleiberg, and director, advanced analysis, Qing Yu.

“The limited availability of alternative fuels, combined with ambitious decarbonisation objectives from IMO, mean energy-saving technologies will be essential for a cleaner maritime industry,” said Mr Bleiberg. “Wind-assisted propulsion technologies promise significant fuel consumption savings and reduced emissions without the need for onshore infrastructure. Along with safety excellence, our deep technical expertise in mechanical and structural analysis, stability and sustainability solutions makes us the ideal collaborator for innovative projects like this one from OceanWings,” he added.

Mr Schalit chaired a wind-assisted propulsion roundtable at the conference, highlighting some of the ‘tailwinds’ and ‘headwinds’ facing WAP technologies’ broader adoption by shipowners. The AiP could well go toward mitigating any scepticism around the technology.

"Receiving this AiP from ABS represents a new essential milestone on our quest to cut CO2 emissions and proves our technology meets the shipping industry’s expectations and that we are ready to scale-up,” said Mr Schalit.

OceanWings believes the AiP will pave the way for new projects, providing maritime decision-makers with the confidence they need to adopt its Wingsail propulsion technology.