Main engines!- just a brief interlude in shipping history

John Stott - Project Manager

Like any self-respecting sailor, I have always kept a weather eye open for a change coming. Since my early career in sailing yacht design, I have always felt that one day the shipping industry will have to revisit the idea of wind propulsion; it's just too attractive a prospect to tap into a free resource that will reduce fuel use and cost. The climate change issue is just adding urgency to the inevitable, and we will wonder why we spent such a long time without embracing the environmental and economic benefits wind offers merchant shipping.

Any weather, any distance, just about any cargo is possible for motor ships now, but that is not always the case. Wind power underpinned global trade for thousands of years before the relatively recent introduction of fossil power. During the transitional period out of sail, there were several decades when sail maintained the edge for speed in certain circumstances, but inevitably that was to change, but decades of development of sailing technology have gone unnoticed in merchant shipping. I am confident that wind-powered ships will again provide the predominant means of marine propulsion.

We are again on the cusp of a change, and again we will see rapid development, from today's early stage retrofit to zero fuel wind and electrically powered close quarter manoeuvring and docking.

Ship design has not fundamentally changed since we stopped using wind propulsion, it is simply that the state of the art in steam and then motor ships has simply grown in size and sophistication. Now that we are applying modern engineering solutions and sophisticated design processes to wind propulsion development again, the results are decisive.

At SGS, we are developing not just the wings but the complete package of automated command and control systems that can stop and turn a ship as well as push it. Our integrated and multi-lateral approach will see voyage optimisation and hardware delivery, allowing shipping companies to minimise weight and downtime for installation, removal, and maintenance. SGS’s direction is clear: we want to continue to work alongside shipping companies, owners, and the wider industry to provide a complete solution.

The design of large professionally manned sailing yachts up to 75m in length and motor yachts up to 119m has given me a unique insight into how this can be done, with a healthy respect for the sea. It is possible and it will happen, so I say I am on board. I can see that those who have vision in the shipping industry understand that this is going to happen. Keep telling us what you want, and we will build it.