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30,000 existing ships ready for wind propulsion tech As the maritime industry’s quest for the best possible decarbonization solutions has intensified, wind propulsion systems are gaining traction around the globe. There are currently 30,000 ships in operation worldwide that could be equipped with wind-assisted ship propulsion (WASP) technology, Jukka Kuuskoski, Chief Sales Officer (CSO) at Norsepower Oy Ltd, estimated during the recent Wind Propulsion Open Mic event, early September.
Newbuilds In the case of newbuilds, this number is said to be much bigger. For reference, the number of ships in the world fleet that are larger than 1,000 GT currently stands at almost 54,000, according to UNCTAD data.
As explained, wind propulsion technology stakeholders are targeting vessels in operation and are focused more on retrofits than on newbuilds because, in the case of retrofits, there is a higher motivation to save money and fuel. The same conclusion was shared earli-
er this year by Gavin Allwright, Secretary-General at the International Windship Association (IWSA), who said that the roll-out of fleet-wide wind propulsion by 2050 could unlock $1 trillion in fuel savings.
