The primary wind-powered vessels from the Oceanbird concept have taken several forms since its creation but are now getting closer to the final design. The recently finished tender design shows a ship equipped with six wing sails that runs in parallel across the deck.
The Oceanbird concept was developed in a Swedish research cluster consisting of Wallenius Marine, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and SSPA Maritime center at Rise. In 2020, the cluster presented a vessel with impressive telescopic 80-meter-high wing sails and studies that showed a possibility of a 90% reduction of emissions.
Half led to multiple more
To be able to start a wing sail production, Wallenius contacted Alfa Laval and the companies formed the joint venture company Oceanbird. It soon became clear that the telescopic wing sail was too complicated and heavy to be able to put into realization in a near future. The R&D team at Oceanbird managed to half the size, while keeping the same performance, using a two-segment design that created camber.
“Thanks to the smaller size and less weight, the wing sail can also be placed on existing vessels, and by that doing much more to reduce the total emissions caused by shipping” says Oceanbird Managing Director Niclas Dahl.
Primary wind-powered vessels
Meanwhile, Wallenius Marine is leading the ship design project of the first primary wind-powered vessel from the Oceanbird concept – Orcelle Wind – and has just finished the tender design. During 2024, it might be small alterations of the ship design based on, among else, new wind tunnel tests and the results from Oceanbird´s prototype testing in Landskrona and onboard Tirranna.
Partners that complement each other
The original Swedish cluster continues to collaborate, now in the EU project Orcelle Horizon, consisting of in total eleven partners. Joining different perspectives from all parts of the value chain, Orcelle Horizon is supporting the building of the world´s first fully sailing car-carrying vessel.
“To finish the tender design is a big milestone. This project has been a collaboration right from the start and having partners that complement each other is absolutely essential so succeed” says Carl Fagergren who leads the Orcelle Wind ship design project at Wallenius Marine.
