Jumbo announced the successful installation of two mechanical sails to Heavy Lift Vessel (HLV) Jumbo Jubilee. The wind assisted ship propulsion (WASP) solution is the latest in a series of innovative technologies installed to the vessel in a bid to boost fuel efficiency and cut carbon.

Jumbo is committed to advancing sustainable heavy-lift shipping with innovative energy-saving and decarbonization initiatives across its fleet, said Jumbo CEO Daan Koornneef.

The company’s approach is to apply multiple fuel-saving solutions to a single vessel, thereby making possible the measurement of each technology’s contribution to the overall picture.

Examples already applied to Jumbo Jubilee include an efficiency boosting propeller coating, AI powered anti-fouling monitoring system and an eco-control system. This latest move, the installation of two Econowind ventofoils, will assess the impact of WASP on the vessel’s efficiency.

While not fully optimized for our vessel type, these sails will help us to gather valuable insights on real-world fuel savings and explore further optimisations that will allow Jumbo to reduce its environmental footprint even more.

—Jumbo Technical Manager Andres Casanova

The relatively small footprint of the sails makes them suited for installation on a heavy lift vessel, where space is required for project cargoes. Additionally, the sails are flexibly mounted on a customised frame engineered in-house by Jumbo structural engineer Estelle Bongers. With this, the sails can be moved, or even transferred to another vessel should additional space be required for cargo.

AI powered anti-fouling monitoring. The installation of the ventofoils follows application of an anti-fouling coating on the ship’s propeller to maintain efficiency, as well as the introduction of an AI powered anti-fouling hull coating monitoring system.

This innovative system captures a wide range of date including vessel speed, geographical position, as well as sea water temperature and other environmental conditions and parameters. This allows the system to make predictions and provide notifications when there is a risk of accelerated fouling.

This means that Jumbo can perform an inspection and undertake maintenance in advance of a decrease in fuel efficiency. It also means the system can be maintained using less aggressive methods, ensuring its preservation for longer durations between dockings.

Intelligent cruise control. A further measure is the installation of an eco-control system to the vessel.

This can be viewed as a type of intelligent cruise control. It allows us to set a fuel consumption or maximum speed limit. With this, the eco-control system takes over and, based on RPM and propeller pitch, is continually adjusting to ensure optimally efficient performance, minimal fuel consumption and emissions.

—Andres Casanova

t Jumbo

Jumbo is a family-owned company with two divisions: Shipping and Offshore. For over 50 years, Jumbo has delivered innovative and reliable heavy lift transportation solutions across various industries. Operating a versatile fleet of state-of-the-art vessels with lifting capacities of 650 to 3,000 tonnes, Jumbo services a range of cargo needs, from large equipment transport to offshore installations.