Rotors and bubbles: route-based assessment of innovative technologies to reduce ship fuel consumption and emissions
This paper examines the potential of two innovative technologies—wind-assist and hull air lubrication—to help reduce emissions from new and existing ships. The authors conduct a route-based analysis of fuel and emissions savings by integrating global ship traffic data with weather data for eight commercial ships, five that use rotor sails (a kind of wind-assist technology) and three that use hull air lubrication. They place the results of that analysis in the context of the goals of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) initial greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy.
