Successful Sea Trials for Becker Daggerboard Technology

Becker Marine Systems' Anti-Drift Daggerboard technology has successfully passed sea trials aboard the new Airbus transport vessel, 'Spirit of Toulouse'. The 168-metre-long RoRo cargo vessel, designed to transport Airbus aircraft components, was built for French shipping company Louis Dreyfus Armateurs and will operate between Airbus production sites in Europe and its final assembly facility in Mobile, Alabama.

The vessel's innovative propulsion concept involves six 35-metre-high Flettner rotors, supplied by Finnish manufacturer Norsepower, harnessing wind energy to generate additional thrust and reduce fuel consumption. Complementing this Wind Assisted Propulsion System (WAPS) is Becker Marine Systems' specially developed Anti-Drift Daggerboard system.

Daggerboards, a crucial component of efficient Wind-Assisted Propulsion, generate lift that counteracts lateral drift caused by wind-assisted propulsion systems. Becker Marine Systems' hydrodynamically optimized underwater fins, each with an 8.8 m² surface area, generate a lift force of 300 kN per vessel. The system ensures a greater proportion of wind energy is converted into effective forward propulsion, improving overall efficiency and reducing fuel consumption and emissions.

Three wind-assisted RoRo cargo vessels, including 'Spirit of Toulouse', are part of Airbus' efforts to reduce emissions from its transatlantic logistics operations by more than half by 2030. For Becker Marine Systems, the project underscores the importance of a comprehensive approach to improving vessel efficiency. Dr Tobias Haack, Managing Director of Becker Marine Systems, notes that the 'Spirit of Toulouse' exemplifies the potential of combining renewable wind energy and advanced marine engineering.