Harnessing wind energy on merchant ships: case study Flettner rotors onboard bulk carriers

Shipping faces challenges of reducing the dependence on fossil fuels to align with the international regulations of ship emissions reduction. The maritime industry is in urgent need of searching about alternative energy sources for ships. This paper highlights the applicability of harnessing wind power for ships. Flettner rotors as a clean propulsion technology for commercial ships are introduced. As a case study, one of the bulk carrier ships operating between Damietta port in Egypt and Dunkirk port in France has been investigated. The results showed the high influence of the interaction between ship course and wind speed and direction on the net output power of Flettner rotors. The average net output power for each rotor will be 384 kW/h. Economically, the results reveal that the use of Flettner rotors will contribute to considerable savings, up to 22.28% of the annual ship's fuel consumption. The pay-back period of the proposed concept will be 6 years with a considerable value of levelized cost of energy. Environmentally, NO_x and CO₂ emissions will be reduced by 270.4 and 9272 ton/year with cost-effectiveness of $1912 and $55.8/ton, respectively, at annual interest rate of 10%.