After decades on the fringes of commercial shipping, wind propulsion is gaining ground as shipowners search for practical ways to cut fuel consumption. While alternative fuels continue to face cost and supply challenges, wind assisted propulsion has the advantage of being available today, delivering immediate fuel savings without changing the fuel itself.
Despite that, adoption remains modest. Emmanuel Schalit, CEO of OceanWings, believes that says more about the nature of shipping than the technology itself.
“We’re talking about very large, very expensive pieces of equipment carrying very expensive cargo,” he said. “You cannot adopt new technology like wind propulsion extremely quickly. You need to see it proven for tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of nautical miles in all possible sea conditions.”
Years of commercial operation, independently verified performance and tighter decarbonisation requirements are now helping answer many of those questions, opening the door for broader deployment.
Market adoption and industry challenges
Wind propulsion still represents a tiny fraction of the world’s commercial fleet. Schalit estimates that only around 50 to 100 vessels out of approximately 50,000 globally are currently operating with wind assisted propulsion systems, giving the technology fleet penetration of roughly 0.2%.
For many emerging technologies, that figure might suggest limited market interest. Schalit argues the opposite.
Safety remains the first concern for shipowners, followed closely by operational reliability. Before adopting any new propulsion technology, operators want evidence that it can operate safely across every trading condition without affecting cargo operations, port calls or transits through waterways such as the Panama and Suez canals.
“When you think about the questions shipowners and operators have when they consider the adoption of wind propulsion, yes, some of them have to do with performance, but many of them have to do with other things. The reliability, the maintenance cost, the impact on port operation, the safety, the certification.”
OceanWings believes much of that proof has already been gathered through commercial deployments. Its first installation has now accumulated almost 200,000 nautical miles over three years, with a reported system availability of 99.6%.
Schalit also sees recent regulatory developments changing the commercial equation.
“All attempts to decarbonise shipping with alternative fuels are now postponed for quite a number of years because alternative fuels are not viable anymore without the IMO’s Net Zero framework.”
“For shipowners or charterers that continue to go after decarbonisation, the only solution that can deliver double digit savings today is actually wind.”
As more vessels complete years of commercial service, he expects confidence across the sector to continue growing.
Verified data builds confidence
Fuel savings alone are no longer enough. Owners, charterers and financiers want independently verified evidence showing where those savings come from and how they can be measured consistently.
According to Schalit, that requirement goes well beyond commercial negotiations.
“Our industry cannot exist without this independent verification.”
OceanWings combines aerodynamic modelling with onboard measurements collected through strain gauges, inertial sensors and vessel operating data. The system separates aerodynamic forces from vessel motion before comparing those measurements with engine, rudder and propeller data to provide a clearer picture of the wing’s contribution.
The company’s aerodynamic modelling methodology received validation from DNV earlier this year, providing an independently assessed framework for evaluating propulsion performance.
Operational data also serves a wider purpose than reporting fuel savings.
Maintenance trends, early fault detection and predictive alerts all contribute to keeping the system operating safely while giving fleet managers confidence that maintenance costs remain under control. Schalit believes certified reporting platforms will also become more valuable as future regulations reward wind propulsion and operators need accepted methods to demonstrate verified emissions savings.
Software will define the next gains
Although OceanWings manufactures rigid wing sails, Schalit believes the largest improvements over the next few years will come from software rather than hardware.
Modern wing designs have already benefited from decades of aerodynamic research. The greater opportunity now lies in how those systems interact with the rest of the ship.
A wind propulsion system cannot simply maximise the power generated by the sails. It must also account for rudder angle, engine settings, propeller configuration and changing sea conditions. Optimising each element separately does not necessarily produce the best overall fuel savings.
The company has therefore developed software that optimises the complete propulsion system alongside adaptive trimming, weather routing and voyage optimisation. Future reporting tools are also expected to give operators certified, real time visibility of fuel savings.
“The gains you can make from software, and in particular the use of AI, are probably massive,” Schalit said.
Today, around one third of OceanWings’ workforce is dedicated to software and artificial intelligence.
“And at the end of the day, what we sell to shipowners is payback.”
For Schalit, that captures where wind propulsion is heading. The wings themselves remain essential, but future performance will increasingly come from the intelligence that controls them, measures them and proves their value long after a vessel leaves the shipyard.
