PRESS RELEASE – Some eight months after signing the contract COVID-style, Boomsma Shipping has now installed its first two eConowind VentiFoil wind-assisted propulsion units. Even with the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, both companies worked closely together to manage the installation during a port call in Harlingen.

The Dutch-flagged MV Frisian Sea, a 6,477dwt general cargo vessel, has made its maiden voyage to Vasteras, Sweden with the VentiFoils in operation. The coming month will be used to optimize the system and operations and train the crew.

“We believe it is necessary and very important to meet sustainability challenges to reduce our environmental footprint. Together with the IMO decarbonization goals for 2050, we want to do our part to reduce our fuel consumption and CO2 emissions as soon as possible,” states Johan Boomsma, co-owner of Boomsma Shipping.

The VentiFoils are wind-assisted ship propulsion units designed by eConowind. They have compact and non-rotating wing profiles which create thrust by means of boundary-layer-suction. Ventilators inside the VentiFoils help to create a vacuum to increase this effect. Due to the generated thrust by the Ventifoils, the thrust of the propeller can be reduced to maintain the same speed, leading to fuel savings and emission reductions.

Flatrack solution

The new flatrack design has the flexibility of a container, being movable by the hatch crane. With this system, the units can be positioned just in front of the superstructure during loading.

“This innovative technology has to work in our daily operations with various wind conditions. We hope savings to be in the region of 10%”, comments project coordinator Tessa Remery.

The project is funded by the Interreg North Sea Europe program and brings together universities and wind-assist technology providers with ship owners to research, trial and validate the operational performance of a selection of wind propulsion solutions.

Ton Boomsma, co-owner and CTO of the company, comments: “The installation of the flatrack solution was relatively easy. We now expect they will give optimal results on our ship. Once the crew gets some experience, we expect no trouble in handling the systems using our hatch cranes.”