MV Delphine returns to service with wind propulsion system fitted

The MV Delphine is a vessel with a cargo capacity of over 8,000 lane meters and transits between the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe. She is the largest and one of the most fuel-efficient short sea roll-on / roll-off (ro-ro) vessel operating in the world today with 28 grammes of CO2 emitted per tonne of cargo shipped per km travelled. With two 35mx5m rotor sails deployed, the ship will emit even less greenhouse gas going forward thanks to an emission reduction saving of up to 10%.

The rotor sails, which can be installed on new vessels or retrofitted on existing ships, incorporate a modernised version of the Flettner rotor, a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus effect to harness wind power to add forward thrust to a ship. The solution is fully automated and detects whenever the wind is strong enough to deliver fuel and emission savings, at which point the sails start automatically. The sails are also tiltable, allowing the vessel to pass under bridges and maintaining operational flexibility.

CLdN will work with the Maritime Technology Division at Ghent University to study the performance of the sails on the MV Delphine in the coming months. 

Gary Walker, Chief Operating Officer, CLdN RoRo, commented: “CLdN is the top performer amongst its ro-ro shipping peers in Northwest Europe, producing the lowest CO2 emissions per tonne of freight carried with its fleet of modern ships. By investing in technologically advanced ships and terminals, CLdN enables its customers to improve their carbon footprint and support them in making their supply chains more efficient and robust. The rotor sails will maximise our fuel and emissions savings on the MV Delphine and we will use this project to help determine how the technology could be deployed on the current CLdN fleet and our new-build vessels. Delphine’s redeployment to the fleet will help meet the current high levels of customer demand.”