BCL considers new ship fitted with kite sail to cut fuel costs
Bermuda Container Line is contemplating purchasing a "greener" ship in a bid to combat rising fuel costs.
In its annual report the company said it was currently looking at purchasing a new ship to replace the ageing Oleander.
Spokesman Blair Simmons said the company is looking into a variety of options, but added that nothing was set in stone at the moment.
The report stated: "One issue that will be critical for the success of the new ship will be fuel efficiency both from a cost and an environmental perspective. We are all aware of the dramatic increase in the price of oil over the last few years and this has had a profound impact on the economics of running a ship.
"In 1995 the combined financing and daily operating costs of the Oleander were 4.4 times the fuel costs; in 2006 this ratio had fallen and these costs were only 1.4 times fuel costs. If oil prices continue to go up then the fuel costs will exceed all other costs of the ship combined.
"There is a lot of research going into ways to reduce fuel consumption by ships including the use of sails. One progressive German shipping company, the Beluga group, has recently launched a ship, the Beluga SkySails, to test out the concept of a kite sail flown from the bow of the ship. Initial reports indicate potential reduction in the fuel consumption of 20 percent over a similar vessel without a kite sail and some developers are predicting reductions up to 40 percent once the technology has been fully developed."
At the moment the SkySails system is the only sail system in the maritime shipping sector which can be used in commercial operation without any restrictions in vessel use.
The kite is connected to the ship by a rope, and controlled by an automatic pod to maximise the wind benefits.
By using this system it is possible to improve the speed of the ship and reduce fuel consumption. SkySails calculates that the use of its technology worldwide could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 146 million tons, about 0.6 percent of the entire global energy-related emissions.
