Page 23: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2024)

The Author player in the wind-assisted shipping in-

Nikkanen dustry, with its WindWings technology

Mikko Nikkanen leads strategy and development for Vaisa- for wind propulsion and route optimiza- la’s Maritime and Ports segment. He has established Vaisa- tion. WindWings uses large, rigid sails la’s maritime focus in modern weather awareness solutions.

to capture wind energy and provide ad- ditional thrust to the ship. The company uses three methods for predicting or analyzing fuel savings at sea: • Comparing performance with wings up versus folded down. • Using equivalent segments and digital twin modeling. • Direct measurement of wing thrust using strain gauges.

Accurate wind data is essential for all these methods, allowing companies to ? ne-tune their systems and provide veri- ? able performance data to clients. This validation, in turn, builds con? dence in

WASP system technology and accelerates its adoption across the maritime sector.

Realizing the Future of Green Shipping

Wind-assisted ships are here to stay.

As the technology continues to evolve, we can expect to see improved integra- tion, advanced weather routing and even the integration of arti? cial intelligence and machine learning to ? ne-tune sys- tem performance.

The maritime industry’s journey to- ward sustainability is being propelled by the winds of change — literally and ? guratively. WASP, backed by ad- vanced wind measurement and moni- toring technologies, offers a viable path to signi? cantly reduce the sector’s car- bon footprint.

With companies like Vaisala,

MARIN, and BAR Technologies lead- ing the way in developing and imple- menting advanced wind measurement and wind-based propulsion solutions, the maritime sector is well positioned to navigate modern shipping challeng- es. Continuing to invest in and develop these technologies will empower the maritime industry to achieve signi? cant fuel savings and emissions reductions, propelling the way to a greener future. www.marinelink.com 23

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