We would like to wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year.
In the Japanese tradition (a fusion of Chinese New Year starting on 01 January), this is the year of the Snake, with good fortune and wisdom. The depiction is of a Snake going with the flow of Wind and Water, indicating a year ahead of momentum, growth but also one of learning gained from experience.
2024, the year of the Dragon was one of striving and strength shown in the continued development of the wind propulsion segment. With 54 large ships in operation and 7 more designated as wind ready and including 4 primary wind vessels and a healthy order book topping 80 ships with a further 30-40 in the pipeline for 2026-27.
Other milestones from IWSA and elsewhere are many fold, including: the release in January of our white paper, ITTC guidelines released for seatrialling and performance verification, our first small vessel publication in September, the very successful Wind Propulsion conference at IMO in October, the inclusion of Wind Propulsion in the GFI/GFS deliberations at MEPC82 along with wind propulsion rising on the agenda across the board as a pure zero-emissions energy solution that is immediately available and one that pays for itself.
2025 starts with the EU bringing into force the FuelEU Maritime regulation with it's significant <5% additional reward factor for wind installations enabling compliance upto 2030 through wind alone. In the first quarter we will be launching our revamped website this month, disseminating our wind propulsion market survey in February and holding the Wind Propulsion Conference - Asia in Singapore in March among other things as part of our 10th year anniversary celebrations but also to mark the halfway point in the #decadeofwindpropulsion
We look forward to working with our members, wider supporters network and our colleagues in the industry to continue to lay the groundwork for delivering on the International Maritime Organization 30% emissions reduction target for 2030 and striving to further grow a wind powered fleet fit for purpose for the coming years.
#windpropulsion #windassist #shipping #shipsandshipping #shippingindustry #maritime #sustainableshipping
