COMPRESSED AIR HOLDS PROMISE FOR SHIP FUEL SAVINGS

Compressed air could prove to be a valuable ‘lubricant’ for sailing vessels, providing them with a hovercraft-like cushion on which to float through the water with less resistance. Air lubrication was the subject of a recent Lloyd’s List Aronnax column, and Craig Eason noted how the technology is gaining some big-name followers. For instance, petroleum giants Shell reportedly sponsored the recent retrofit on a tanker’s under-hull air lubrication system, and Mr Eason adds that “such corporate sponsorship from a large oil major is not unheard of”. The system works by blowing compressed air out of between one and two dozen cavities in the hull, creating a pocket beneath the boat measuring anywhere up to 2cm thick. While the air compressors involved use about 2% of the ship’s power, the total net fuel savings are, at a conservative estimate, about 5%. Mr Eason adds that the conservative percentage reported so far could actually be an underestimate – but that substantially higher claims would have been likely to meet with scepticism from those elsewhere in the industry.

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