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Propulsion - VIKING LINE to use wind electric propulsion

VIKING LINE has struck an agreement with Norsepower to install its auxiliary wing propulsion Rotor Sail solution on board liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuelled VIKING GRACE
by Earl of Cruise
VIKING GRACE - VIKING LINE
VIKING GRACE - courtsey VIKING LINE
The addition of Norsepower’s technology will slash carbon emissions by approximately 900 tonnes annually – the equivalent of cutting 300 tonnes of LNG fuel per year, Norsepower said in a statement.
Preparations for the retrofit are underway, with the installation scheduled to take place during the second quarter of 2018. VIKING GRACE is set to be retrofitted with one medium-sized Norsepower Rotor Sail unit that is 24m in height and 4m in diameter, making it the first-ever global LNG-wind electric propulsion hybrid ship.
The Norsepower Rotor Sail  solution is a modernised version of the Flettner rotor - a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus effect to harness wind power to propel a ship. “The solution is fully automated and senses whenever the wind is strong enough to deliver fuel savings. At this point the rotors start automatically, optimising crew time and resource,” said Norsepower.
VIKING GRACE - VIKING LINE with Norsepower Flettner Rotor
VIKING GRACE in a simulation by NORSEPOWER - courtsey NORSEPOWER

Viking Line marine operations and newbuildings senior vice president Ulf Hagström said: “As an organisation that strives to ensure that our fleet operates in an environmentally friendly and economical way, we are proud to be partnering with Norsepower. Our cruise vessel is the first to use a combination of alternative clean fuels, modern rotor sails, electric propulsion, and a hydrodynamically optimised hull. We believe in the Rotor Sail solution technology’s ability to enhance our ship’s performance by enabling significant reductions in fuel burn and costs, as well as carbon emissions.
As the original Flettner Rotor, the NORSEPOWER rotor is rotating and producing with/against the wind the forward move
As the original Flettner Rotor, the NORSEPOWER rotor is rotating and producing with/against the wind the forward move - courtsey NORSEPOWER
Commenting on the deal, Norsepower chief executive Tuomas Riski said: “This project marks the first modern auxiliary wind propulsion technology installation on board a cruiseferry.
To date, independent data analysis indicates that up to 20 per cent fuel savings per year can be achieved on routes with favourable wind flows, sufficient-sized rotor sails, and appropriate service speed, said Norsepower.
Big data boost for propulsion - ABB is deepening its analytical and predictive approach to vessel maintenance with the latest upgrade of its Remote Diagnostic Services (RDS) (PDF for download), it announced at Seatrade Cruise Global in Miami, USA, in March 2017.
Harnessing Wind Power by MARITIME REPORTER
Copy courtsey from MARITIME REPORTER
Wind Power Presentation by NORSEPOWER TECHNOLOGY
Presentation by NORSEPOWER TECHNOLOGY

The upgraded software functionalities will give more power and transparency to the shoreside operations of shipowners, while ABB has stepped up its proactive monitoring of the data and predictive analytics. The enhancement of ABB’s digital services comes after an internal study found that existing remote monitoring of machinery reduced maintenance costs by 50 per cent.
ABB is aiding the development of the shoreside operations of shipping companies by giving the opportunity to replicate ABB’s Integrated Operations Centers in their own operational centres. The latest version of RDS software allows shipping companies to deploy their own analytics, or those from a third party where applicable, with greater ease. ABB has further developed its dedicated hardware for monitoring large and small rotating machinery with tight integration to the RDS software. The graphical user interface has also been improved to increase user experience and to give identical views of the detailed data both on board and on shore.
To further leverage the data received from vessels, the ABB Digital Service team has been strengthened with more data scientists and architects to promote the search for insight into the health of the monitored assets. The ABB software used as part of the RDS combines the capabilities of dedicated onboard software with a full analytics engine on shore. Thanks to this modularity and capability, the software can now run the same analytics on board as on shore.
ABB is also launching the new mobile application that will allow the user to monitor the health status of connected marine machinery, starting with Azipod propulsion.
VIKING LINE announced too it has struck a letter of intent with a Chinese shipyard to build a new LNG-powered ferry – with the option for an additional vessel.
The letter of intent has been signed with XIAMEN SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY Co. Ltd. for a € 190 million passenger vessel that will be delivered in 2020. The aim is to sign with XIAMEN a final agreement during 2017. the letter of intent also includes an option for an additional vessel.
The North Baltic Sea ferry operator said in a statement that the vessel is intended to be a collaborative project, and the plan is to engage a number of Finnish and European suppliers, including DELTAMARINE, WÄRTSILÄ and ABB MARINE. The new vessel will serve the Turku - Åland Islands - Stockholm route.
The new VIKING LINE ferry build at XIAMEN - XIAMEN SHIPBUILDING
The new VIKING LINE ferry build at XIAMEN - courtsey XIAMEN SHIPBUILDING
the vessel will be 218 m in length and have a Gross Registered Tonnage of 63,000. Passenger capacity will be 2,800, and the length of it cargo lanes will be 1,500 m. VIKING LINE will hire Scandinavian architects for the interior design.
"Our intention is for the vessel to run on liquified natural gas (LNG). We have excellent experience with this from VIKING GRACE, the first large LNG-powered passenger vessel in the world. Great emphasis has been placed in the planning work on enviromentally sound solutions, including new innovative energy-efficient applications. Many years of planning have gone into this newbuilding project in conhunction with the EUROPEAN UNION´s MOTORWAYS of the SEAS under the scope of the Connecting Europe Facility Funding instrument, which has also included the port of Turku and the ports of Stockholm," says VIKING LINE´s chief excecutive officer (CEO) Jan Hanses.


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