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Maritime shipping is entirely dependent on oil. Over the past 20 years, crude oil prices have risen annually by 10% on average. This development places tremendous financial pressure on the shipping industry as fuel costs account for more than half of a ship's operating expenses already today.
Irrespective of the current economic crisis, there is no end in sight to this trend: The IEA (International Energy Agency) projects an average oil price level of US-$ 100 per barrel over the period 2009 to 2015 and expects prices to double to approx. US-$ 200 by the year 2030. According to the IEA the main reason for this price increase is the continuing decline in oil production rates (6.7% p.a.) facing a growing demand of 1% per year. Without massive investments, this development will ultimately lead to a widening gap in supplies and further price increases.
By using the SkySails technology large quantities of fuel can be saved. Consequently, ship operating costs drop significantly.Economical acquisition and operating costs for the SkySails-System lead to short amortization periods of between 3 and 5 years.So far no sail system has been able to meet the requirements of today's maritime shipping industry.
SkySails is offering the only wind propulsion system which meets all these requirements.
The technical possibilities resulting from the spatial separation of the ship and the “sail” or towing kite give SkySails an entirely new performance spectrum.
The towing kite of the SkySails propulsion can be navigated “dynamically”. This means that the autopilot can perform flight maneuvers with the towing kite such as the figure of eight in front of the ship.
SkySails easily generate five to 25 times more propulsion power per square meter sail area than conventional sail propulsions.
The ship's regular crew is adequate for operating the system and no additional personnel costs will arise.
The textile towing kite is easy to stow when folded and requires very little space on board ship. A folded 160m² SkySails for example is only the size of a telephone booth.
In contrast to conventional sail propulsions the SkySails-System has no superstructures which may obstruct loading and unloading at harbors or navigating under bridges, since the towing kite is recovered as soon as the 3-mile zone is reached.
Unlike conventional forms of wind propulsion, the heeling caused by the SkySails-System is minimal and virtually negligible in terms of ship safety and operation.
The SkySails-System is used parallel to and for relief of the main engine, if wind conditions allow. The main engine's propulsion power remains fully available if required.Virtually all existing cargo vessels and new builds can be retro- or outfitted with the SkySails auxiliary wind propulsion system.
Its universal design opens up an attractive market for the SkySails-System: Some 60,000 of the worldwide approximately 100,000 ships listed in Lloyd’s Register and about 1,100 of the 1,900 newly built vessels joining the world's merchant fleet each year are predestined to be outfitted with SkySails propulsion.
SkySails plans to equip 3,300 cargo ships and fish trawlers, as well as numerous superyachts, with SkySails propulsion by the year 2020.
Thanks to its broad applicability in the shipping sector, the SkySails-System can make a major contribution to curbing climate change. The systematic and worldwide use of SkySails technology would make it possible to save over 150 million tons of CO2 a year, an amount equivalent to about 15% of Germany's CO2 emissions.For the first time in the history of commercial navigation, shipping companies are required to significantly reduce their ships' emissions for reasons of safeguarding the climate. Already today and in addition to the rising price of oil, operating costs are increasing considerably due to these legal regulations.
In April 2008 the IMO approved a reduction in sulfur emissions for the shipping industry. From the year 2020 shipping companies either have to use destillate fuels with a limited sulfur content of 0.5% instead of heavy fuel oil or have to use scrubbing technology to clean their exhaust gases.
Already today the maximum sulfur content for ship fuels is limited to 1.5% in the so-called SECAs (Sulfur Emission Control Areas) on the North Sea and Baltic Sea. This threshold will drop to 1% starting in 2012. This is nothing more than a requirement to burn MDO/MGO, since it is not possible to reduce the sulfur content of heavy fuel oil to this level. For shipping companies using distillate fuels means a doubling of fuel costs in the future, since refined products such as MGO and MDO are considerably more expensive than highly sulfurous bunker oil.
In addition to that, the IMO is currently working on a regulation on the reduction of CO2 emissions from shipping in the form of a CO2 indexing scheme. Experts assume that corresponding regulations will be implemented in a timely manner. Thus, shipping companies will also be burdened with emissions-based levies in the future.
It is a simple issue: if no fuel is combusted, there are no emissions. SOx and NOx emissions can be reduced by retrofitting ships with exhaust-gas cleaning systems, however, technologies presently available to reduce emissions unfortunately and paradoxically increase fuel consumption and thus CO2 emissions. In addition to the high investment costs these technologies entail, operating costs increase by up to 5% as well.
Obviously, it is smarter to reduce emissions by reducing fuel consumption, and this is exactly the solution the SkySails-System offers. Shipping companies thus benefit in two ways: they reduce emissions and their operating costs at the same time.
*The installation of emissions-reducing exhaust-gas cleaning systems entails tremendous costs for shipping companies. With such a system, fuel consumption rises by about 3% due to increased resistance in the exhaust line. Besides the expenses for maintenance and operation, the cost of procuring such catalytic converters runs about 40,000 euros per 1,000 kW of ship's power. Moreover, the highly toxic residues from the cleaning systems then have to be disposed of at great expense in port.
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