Shipowners need more than a sales pitch to be convinced that windsails can lower fuel costs by more than half, according to an advocate for the emission-free technology.
They want proof, says International Windship Association secretary Gavin Allwright.
"It's third-party verification on the fuel savings," he tells TradeWinds during CMA Shipping 2019 in Stamford, Connecticut.
He said owners are told fuel cost savings can be as much as 20% on retrofits and up to 70% on newbuild installations, but they want unaffiliated proof before making a deal.
"They want that verified because they can't believe those numbers," he said.
Owners also question why would they go back to using wind power like ships of the 19th century did, he said.
"They ask, are we going backwards with this technology?" he said.
"The response to that is that this is fully automated, you've got weather stations on board, you don't need specialised crew to operate these things."
The owners also want return on investment, which Allwright said is within the "sweet spot" of about 3.5 years.
And if the technology underperforms during a lease deal, the shipowner still gets a cost savings while the technology provider may get a slower payback, he said.
"If it overperforms, fantastic," he said.
Everybody's happy."
