Greenpeace to build sailing vessel with DynaRig system
Environmental NGO Greenpeace International has signed a contract with Southern Spars, a New Zealand-based designer and manufacturer of high-performance composite yacht spars.
Southern Spars is a division of the North Technology Group. The supply agreement, made through NTG’s North Windships initiative, includes the design, delivery and maintenance of a DynaRig system for Greenpeace’s most sustainable sailing vessel to date, designed by Dykstra Naval Architects.
Greenpeace deputy international programme director Fabien Ronda says the NGO will use the new ship to “chase and confront looters and polluters on the high seas.” Greenpeace says it will also use it to protect marine biodiversity and showcase cutting-edge shipping technology.
Two DynaRig masts will be installed on the 75-metre vessel. They will feature a sail area of 2,000 square metres and will be supplied by North Sails.
For auxiliary power and energy storage, the ship will be fitted with alternative fuel systems such as hydrogen, battery packs and solar panels.
“The DynaRig concept has already proven itself on iconic sailing vessels, such as the Maltese Falcon and Black Pearl, both designed by Dykstra Naval Architects,” says Andy Shaw, general manager at DynaRig. “We are thrilled to apply the same technology to Greenpeace’s landmark project and demonstrate that high-speed shipping through sustainable sources is a reality.
“Southern Spars has completed various NGO concept studies, such as an ocean clean-up vessel, and supported the development of research vessels. However, this is our first contract win for a rig,” Rudy Jurg, head of sales for DynaRig and AeroRig at Southern Spars, tells MIN.
“This partnership has been a long time in the making. Greenpeace has a history of wind-powered vessels, and we have worked together on joint concepts in the past (since the early noughties, in fact). I think the acquisition of the DyanRig product into the North Technology Group, the organisation our brands sit under, was one of the factors in winning this project.”
Rudy Jurg, head of sales for DynaRig and AeroRig at Southern Spars.
The DynaRig incorporates a free-standing, rotating mast equipped with a fully automated sail handling system. One crew member can sail the ship from a single control panel, allowing safe, high average speeds in ocean conditions. This makes the system particularly suited to commercial vessels.
The DynaRig team will work alongside Greenpeace, Dykstra Naval Architects and Freire Shipyard to deliver the project, which is due to be commissioned in 2027.
Wind propulsion technologies, such as the DynaRig, will play a key role in decarbonising the commercial maritime sector and helping it reach its goal of reducing carbon emissions from sea shipping by at least 40 per cent by 2040, as directed by the International Maritime Organisation.
Shaw adds: “We are in no doubt that DynaRig is set to transform the future of commercial shipping.”
Ronda adds: “We know that what we do in the next decade will shape the rest of the century… That’s why we are building this new ship – it will be a call to go further and to do more than ever before.”
The post Greenpeace to build sailing vessel with DynaRig system appeared first on Marine Industry News.
