With the number of ships using direct wind energy for propulsion increasing at a rate of knots, perceptions of wind propulsion technology are seemingly changing in the shipping industry, a sector which, until the middle of the 19th Century, relied solely on sail.

The potential of wind energy to rapidly decarbonise the shipping industry by enabling the realisation of low or zero emission vessels is well-known. However, barriers to the large-scale adoption of wind propulsion technologies remain, despite multiple proven and mature technologies being available on the market today.

This week, the International Windship Association, the global trade organisation for direct wind power in shipping, has launched a new survey to gain deeper understanding of existing barriers to the accelerated upscaling of wind technology use, and to understand the perception of the wind propulsion technology segment and low- or zero-emissions fuels and technologies.

The results of the survey will be disseminated back into the industry with the aim of improving awareness and understanding around wind energy and wind propulsion technology, firstly to delegates attending the upcoming ‘Wind Propulsion Asia’ Summit, which will be hosted by IWSA on 25-26 March during Singapore Maritime Week, and then on wind-ship.org for public use.

The ‘Wind Propulsion Asia’ Summit will take place at the important ‘Noon Report’ point in the ‘Decade of Wind Propulsion’ and is being held in association with the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) with contributions from the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD). The Summit is sponsored by Lloyd’s Register, DNV, Mitsui O.S.K Lines, Advanced Wing Systems, Anemoi, bound4blue, Econowind, Norsepower and Wärtsilä.

Gavin Allwright, Secretary General of IWSA says: “The results of this survey will help inform IWSA’s future work around direct wind energy use just as we approach an inflexion point in the technology roll out. At this important juncture, these results will help to facilitate discussions and debate around the issues facing the sector at the Wind Propulsion Asia Summit. We anticipate that the survey findings will also enable all stakeholders s to identify areas that require collective action at an industry, market and policy/regulatory level.”