Wallenius Wilhelmsen, a company specialized in transport maritime and motor vehicle logistics, has started the replacement of the bow bulbs of the car carrier ships of your own fleet with the aim of reducing fuel consumption and polluting emissions. The programme was launched in Chinese shipyard IMC-Yongyue of Zhoushan that in the span of three weeks replaced the bulb of the Aniara, to which similar interventions will follow on the ships Oberon, Tijuca and Tirranna.

"The current design of the bow bulb - explained Adam Larsson, senior manager Energy Efficiency and Performance at Company - originally it was optimized for a draft and for a very precise speed. However, operational data clearly demonstrate that ships operate at draft and speed lower for a significant part of the time, compared to which The existing design does not work well, creating additional resistance to movement in the water'. Larsson added that, by working together. for design with the South Korean DSEC and DSME/Hanwha, it is A new optimized design has been developed that reduces this resistance and allows a considerable average saving of 6% of the fuel, which translates into a decrease of 1,400 tons of CO2 emitted per year by a single ship. "We can expect - it has emphasized - even greater average savings if in the future the Actual operating speeds will be reduced since the New design, compared to the old, will work much better at slower speeds. It is worth highlighting - he remarked - whereas, under certain operating conditions, such as a lower draft of about eight meters and a speed of 14 knots, saving can get up to 30%».

The new bulb, weighing 137 tons and 23 meters, was made during a first phase of prefabrication of the duration of two months at the end of which it was raised in the dry dock to be installed on the bow of the Aniara, Second phase that was completed in a week. "The next two installations of bulbs - announced Lars Ekren, senior manager in Newbuilding & Projects at Wallenius Wilhelmsen - will take place in October on the Tijuca and Oberon and the prefabrication work has already been completed."