DK Group founder Jorn Winkler told the Sustainable Shipping Forum on Thursday that a combination of different technologies to cut fuel consumption could be the “best solution to cope with emissions.”
In his presentation at the conference in Singapore, Winkler brought up an IMO statement that the simultaneous use of different technologies could reduce CO2 emissions by a minimum of 10% to a maximum of 50%.
Block co-efficients to streamline ship design for tankers and bulkers would also cut fuel consumption by 15-25%, said Winkler, who highlighted how container ships are already “slim and more efficient.”
Recovering waste gas heat would also save up to 8% in fuel consumption, while twin propellers and new propeller blades would cut a combined 9% and other design modifications could save a further 10%, he said.
Combining all these measures, with the DK Group's Air Cavity System, said to reduce fuel usage by 15-25%, would bring about up to 50% savings in fuel used by tankers and bulkers, while container ships could save some 36%, said Winkler.
Winkler lamented the fact that even newbuildings currently are not displaying most of these technologies, and said that the shipping industry is “playing itself into the hands of federal regulators for lack of action to curb its own emissions.”