FastRig easy retrofit wingsail starts on-land testing

With an increasing number of vessel owners and charterers seeing wind assisted propulsion as a way to cut emissions, FastRig, a wingsail solution that’s been specifically designed for easy retrofitting to existing ships, has passed a major milestone. U.K.-based Smart Green Shipping, the developer of the wingsail, today commenced on-land testing of the solution at Hunterston PARC in Scotland.

FastRig has been developed collaboratively with input from ship owners and cargo owners. With the financial support of MOL Dry Bulk, Scottish Enterprise and private investors, the first FastRig has been raised at Hunterston PARC in Scotland, a former coal port now being developed for multiple blue economy purposes.

Smart Green Shipping collaborated with naval architects Humphreys Yacht Design, which drew on its 50 years of experience to develop the design of FastRig. Argo Engineering was responsible for translating the high-performance design into practical, affordable construction engineering. FastRig will undergo its on-land tests at Hunterston PARC in Scotland before commencing on-ship trials later this year.

Gilpin is an ardent climate activist who believes the climate emergency can be addressed by technology and innovation where she has worked for more than 30 years. She was part of the Cellnet team that launched the first cellular telephone in the U.K., and was the only woman to manage an F3 team and went on to manage an offshore yacht racing team in the BT Global Challenge. She holds a number of positions within shipping industry bodies including the Clean Maritime Council, the EU Waterborne Transport Platform and delivered a speech on behalf of the International Chamber of Shipping at the Paris Climate Conference.

In 2018/19 a collaborative feasibility study that measured emissions saved by FastRigs on a panamax on its usual route and normal operating speed predicted the wingsail would save up to 20% emissions per annum. This analysis was undertaken with the University of Southampton. The most recent FastRig design has been shown to reduce emissions by another 10%. The next few months will see Smart Green Shipping perform on-land testing of the rig to assess key safety, operational, technical and mechanical systems, in collaboration with project partners. From April onwards, Smart Green Shipping will be hosting visitors at the test site in Hunterston, Scotland, to see FastRig in action.