Bow windshield, new rising containership feature

The bow windshield first invented by Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) could be set to go mainstream with news that two of the world’s largest liners have been installed on a flagship in its fleet.

Concept

In principle, the equipment plays the role of a windshield and aims at improving the ship’s aerodynamics, similar to an air dam incorporated into a semi-truck design. At first, the design seemed odd. Now they are standard for long-haul trucks. Therefore, the shipping industry can benefit as well by reducing its fuel consumption and its greenhouse gas emissions.

MOL was the first to develop the bow windshield for containerships, getting ClassNK to check how much they reduce bunker consumption in early tests six years ago. MOL’s merged container line, Ocean Network Express (ONE), operated with Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), has in the last year installed windshields on two ships, the ONE Trust and ONE Tradition.

In the early stages, MOL carried out tests on the windshield and claimed that the device cuts CO2 emissions by 2%. The shield was installed on the bow of one of its containerships, MOL Marvel. Thus, the test results showed the vessel to have a 2% average CO2 reduction sailing at 17 knots on a transpacific route, compared to operating an identical vessel at the same speed without the device installed.

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ONE Trust

ONE Trust, a 20,170 TEU containership owned by Japanese shipowner Ocean Network Express (ONE), is showcasing the innovative device installed on its bow. The wind deflector has been installed at Qingdao Beihai shipyard in China during the vessel’s drydock.

Note that, this device is being trialed as part of the shipowner’s energy transition strategy as the company looks at ways of reducing its carbon footprint and meeting environmental regulations set to enter into force.

The containership has been attracting views from industry analysts and enthusiasts as it makes stops in European-Asian ports which includes port calls at Southampton, Le Havre, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Tangier, Singapore Yanshian, Ningbo, Yantian, and Nansha.

“We will evaluate and consider installing the devices on our existing vessels,” 

ONE

Marco Polo

CMA CGM seems to follow ONE with the bow windshield installation as images were reported from the Tugster. A blog covering ships passing through the port of New York.

Specifically, it shows that the 16,000 TEU CMA CGM Marco Polo has had a nose job, with a curved navy blue metal shield added to the prow of the giant vessel.

Overall, the bow windshield seems to be the new rising containership design feature that could be set to go mainstream with the news that two of the world’s largest liners have been installed on a flagship in its fleet. The shipping industry can benefit as well by reducing its fuel consumption and its greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, contributing to the efforts on reaching decarbonization of the maritime transport.

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